Aftab Ansari in Presidency Jail: How did phones, Wi-Fi equipment and cash reach his high-security cell?

Fresh questions are being raised over security at Kolkata's Presidency Correctional Home after electronic communication equipment and cash were recovered from the cell of Aftab Ansari, the convict in the American Centre attack case.

What was recovered from the cell?

A search of Ansari's cell recovered three smartphones, including an iPhone, three Jio SIM cards, two Jio routers, a Wi-Fi hotspot, two card readers, a 128GB pen drive, three OTG devices and a headphone. Authorities also found Rs 31,000 in cash, according to reports on the seizure.

Ansari has been treated as a high-security inmate for years. Prison records cited in the latest report say he was kept in a separate cell with round-the-clock surveillance arrangements, including CCTV and a dedicated warder.

The security question

That has intensified the central question for investigators: how did the devices and cash reach a high-security cell, and how were they being used without being detected?

The recovery comes while a CID investigation is already examining the wider problem of mobile-phone use inside correctional homes. Earlier searches at Presidency Correctional Home had also resulted in the recovery of mobile phones and disciplinary action against senior prison officials.

What are investigators examining?

Investigators are now looking at whether prison staff may have assisted the flow of devices and money, and who Ansari may have been communicating with from inside the jail. These are lines of investigation, not established findings.

The cash recovery has added another layer to the probe. Police are examining whether the money was connected to alleged extortion activity from inside prison or whether Ansari was receiving funds from an outside organisation.

The incident puts the effectiveness of high-security prison controls under renewed scrutiny and could lead to a wider examination of CCTV coverage, staffing arrangements, access controls and the movement of prohibited electronic devices inside correctional facilities.