Thiruvananthapuram: Four prison officials in Kerala have been suspended in the past year for trafficking narcotics to inmates. Although the Kerala Prisons and Correctional Services Department initially sought to cover up the incidents, disciplinary action was taken after they came to light during police investigations. One official has also been arrested in this connection.

The most recent action was against Murali Mohan, Assistant Prison Officer (APO) at Viyyur Central Jail. Investigations revealed that a mobile number registered in his wife’s name had received multiple calls from a narcotics case accused. It was also found that this phone number had been used to contact relatives of certain prisoners on several occasions. When the jail authorities became aware of his activities, they took no real action but merely transferred him to the Kottayam District Jail. However, he was suspended on an intervention by the State Police Chief based on a Special Branch report.

Earlier in July this year, APO Shiraz Basheer was suspended after a police report established his role in smuggling narcotics into Ernakulam District Jail. Investigators found that he had received payments from contacts outside the prison on behalf of inmates for delivering the contraband. Action against him was initiated directly by the Home Department.

Similarly, APO Ajumon of Viyyur Central Jail was transferred to Kannur after suspicions arose of his involvement in drug trafficking within the prison. He, too, was later suspended following a police report and intervention by the State Police Chief. Investigations revealed that he had received payments for narcotics deliveries through UPI transactions.

The only case directly handled by the Prison Department itself was that of APO Shamsuddin of Viyyur High-Security Prison. He had been caught for smuggling a bundle of beedis into the jail and was subsequently remanded after being arrested by the police.

Police investigations into all four incidents are ongoing. According to officials, only about 10 per cent of the cases involving the trafficking of narcotics and mobile phones inside Kerala’s prisons are ever reported to the police.