Kolkata Jail Search: Aftab Ansari’s Cell Yields Phones, Wi-Fi Equipment and Cash

A search at the Presidency Correctional Home has raised questions over prison security after three mobile phones, Wi-Fi equipment, electronic accessories and Rs 31,000 in cash were recovered from the cell of Aftab Ahmed Ansari, mastermind of the 2002 American Centre attack.

Ansari, who is serving a life sentence and is lodged in cell number 14, allegedly had access to a mobile phone and the internet inside the prison. The search followed intelligence inputs about unauthorised phone use inside the prison. Officials said three phones were found in his clothes and bedding, along with two routers, a Wi-Fi device, a pen drive and an earphone. The cash was recovered in Rs 500 denominations.

The seizure prompted the jail authorities to lodge a complaint with Hastings Police Station, which registered a case and began an investigation. A key part of the inquiry is determining how the prohibited devices and cash reached Ansari’s cell.

Investigators are examining possible routes, including whether inmates, visitors, contractors or prison personnel could have facilitated the movement of contraband. The multiple communication devices and networking equipment could indicate sustained internet access rather than possession of a single handset.

Police are also scrutinising the devices and their communication history to establish who Ansari may have contacted. Officials are specifically trying to determine whether calls were made to his overseas contacts and whether he communicated with anyone outside India. Reports have raised questions about possible contact with Pakistan, but this has not been established by investigators.

The case has wider implications for prison administration. The recovery comes amid earlier concerns over unauthorised mobile-phone use inside the correctional home, suggesting potential weaknesses in searches, surveillance, staff oversight and contraband control.

For now, authorities have not confirmed any foreign communication or external network operated from the prison. The investigation must establish both the source of the equipment and whether it was used for criminal or security-sensitive communication.