Kannur: To curb illegal activities in jails Kerala chief minister had recently announced that mobile phone jammers would be installed. However, if the plan is to be effective, arrangements have to be made to prevent inmates from getting access to common salt!

Twelve years ago, a mobile jammer was set up at Kannur Central Jail but it was damaged beyond repair by the prisoners using common salt. The jammer, which cost Rs 20 lakh, was functional for hardly six months. Mobile use in Kannur Central Jail had become rampant in 2007, forcing the authorities to install the equipment.

The main equipment of the jammer was fixed to the ground near the tower. Cables were laid from the equipment to various prisoners’ blocks. The inmates initially tried to make the jammer non-functional by cutting these cables. However, the authorities soon joined the snapped cables.

Information soon reached the inmates that if the main part of the jammer located below ground level could be sabotaged, the system would not work. Some prisoners who had technical knowledge gave the advice that the main equipment could be thrown out of gear by adding salt.

A plan was soon hatched in the prison. Each inmate began to collect the common salt that was given along with meals. Some salt was also stolen from the jail kitchen. Sufficient salt was obtained after several days. The salt was subsequently deposited between the machinery installed in the ground, destroying it.

Now the authorities have to find a technically advanced jammer if they have to prevent sabotage with common salt. The Prisons Department has already written to Keltron seeking the most modern jammers at all the three Central Jails in the state.