Thiruvananthapuram: The Vigilance wing set by the Kerala Home Ministry to check corruption by jail officials and their unruly deals with inmates has become a non-starter.
Heeding to persistent demand from various quarters for appointing Vigilance and Intelligence wings in the jail department ,two years ago the Kerala government had appointed the then Chief Welfare Officer as Vigilance Officer. Even then, the demand for the setting up of Intelligence wing had been turned down by the government.
But not a single complaint has been received and inquired into by the Vigilance Officer till date, making a mockery of the whole system.
A section of the jail officials was said to have torpedoed the functioning of the Vigilance wing at the jails ostensibly due to their opposition against the government's decision to appoint the Chief Welfare Officer as the Vigilance Officer.
The lack of a proper Vigilance and Intelligence set-ups has been all the more felt at a time when the senior jail officials are in the dock for their unholy nexus with the jail inmates in promoting mafia operations and illegal phone calls inside the jails.
Plot against govt?
Meanwhile, it is alleged that a section of the jail officials had colluded before the last Assembly polls to use the the sensational gold smuggling case against the LDF Government.
A meeting of the jail officials at various districts was reportedly held in both Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur. The meetings were held in the official residence of two higher jail officials during the period when the accused in the gold smuggling case were languishing in the Viyyur High Security Prison and the Ernakulam District Jail. The jail officials and the ministerial staff from the districts attended the meetings.
The police and jail headquarters at Thiruvananthapuram had received information that the meetings were held as part of exploring ways to put pressure on the undertrials in the gold smuggling case to give statement against the state government, so as to dent the government's image before the Assembly polls.
