Assam Jailer Faces Anti-Terror Law Over Gadgets In Amritpal Singh's Cell

The superintendent of the Dibrugarh Central Jail was arrested Thursday night over a major prison breach last month, in which several electronic gadgets were seized from the inmates belonging to the separatist group 'Waris Punjab De'.

Separatist Amritpal Singh and his nine associates have been lodged in this prison since last year.

A spy camera, a smartphone, a keypad phone, pen drives, Bluetooth headphones and speakers, a smartwatch, and several other things were recovered from the cell where they were kept last month.

Nipen Das, superintendent of the jail, has been arrested for breaching the jail manual. He has been charged with the stringent anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Assam Prisons Act, said Dibrugarh Superintendent of Police VV Rakesh Reddy.

"We found electronic devices in the cell of Amritpal Singh and his nine associates recently. During the investigation, we found enough evidence against the superintendent of Dibrugarh Central Jail Nipen Das. We have found prima facie evidence against him," he said.

On April 23, 2023, Amritpal Singh was brought to the Dibrugarh Central Jail after the Punjab Police arrested him from the state's Moga district after several weeks of manhunt.

The separatist was charged under the stringent National Security Act or NSA. His nine associates have also been charged under the NSA.

The Dibrugarh prison, built in 1859-60, is one of the oldest and most high-security jails in the Northeast.