Haryana govt plans call-blocking technology to curb gangster links from Bhondsi jail

Gurgaon: For years, the walls of Bhondsi jail have failed to isolate some of the city's most notorious criminals from the outside world. Mobile phones have repeatedly been smuggled into the prison, enabling gangsters to make extortion calls, monitor their networks and, in some cases, direct criminal operations from behind bars. Haryana is now looking to plug that gap with technology. After a successful pilot of Tower Harmonics Call Blocking System (T-HCBS) at Ambala Central Jail, the state govt plans to assess its deployment in other prisons, including high-security facilities such as Bhondsi jail. The move signals a shift from simply trying to recover illegal phones to making them unusable. Haryana cooperation, tourism, prisons and elections minister Arvind Sharma said technology was being used extensively to make prisons in the state safer and more modern. 'The tower harmonics call blocking system, introduced as a pilot project in Ambala jail, has successfully and effectively restricted the use of calls and internet through illegal mobile phones. Following the positive results, efforts are now under way to implement this technology in other prisons across the state as well,' said Sharma. He said preventing the use of illegal mobile phones inside prisons was a departmental priority. 'Along with recovering mobile phones, eliminating the possibility of their use altogether is a more effective measure. Modern technology is therefore being utilised for this purpose, and there will be no compromise whatsoever with prison security,' said Sharma. The timing is significant for Gurgaon. As of June 30 this year, Bhondsi jail housed 3,054 inmates against a sanctioned capacity of 2,412, the highest inmate population among Haryana's prisons and an occupancy rate of about 126%. Across the state, 26,526 inmates were lodged in prisons built to accommodate 24,280, an occupancy rate of around 109%. In Sept 2020, police arrested three men accused of throwing packets containing mobile phones over Bhondsi jail's boundary wall. Investigators said the trio had supplied at least 24 phones using this method. According to police, inmates used the devices to make extortion calls and contact their henchmen and aides. Conventional jammers work by creating radio interference over a designated area. Their main limitation is that communication technology keeps evolving, and a jammer configured for older networks may not effectively block newer 4G or 5G services. After inspecting Bhondsi jail in 2025, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) found that inmates, including notorious gangsters, were able to use mobile phones because the facility had only outdated 2G jammers instead of 5G-capable equipment. In 2025, Haryana prison department recommended a special investigation after 23 mobile phones were recovered from five state prisons in six months. The recommendation came amid concerns that police investigations were not adequately establishing how the devices were reaching inmates. T-HCBS uses specialised towers installed within a prison complex to control unauthorised mobile communication. Designed as an alternative to conventional blanket jamming, the system can block calls, SMS and data services inside prisons. A parliamentary committee has described T-HCBS as an alternative to jammers that can block 2G, 3G and 4G signals and is suitable for 5G. An official said a mobile phone can still be smuggled into a barrack, but if the handset cannot establish an effective communication link, its value to a gangster is sharply reduced. 'This could disrupt the chain through which an inmate inside Bhondsi allegedly contacts an associate outside, issues instructions, threatens a businessman, monitors a rival or coordinates an operation,' he added. Experience elsewhere, however, shows that T-HCBS may not guarantee complete blocking. The Delhi govt has previously acknowledged problems such as signal leakage, shadow areas and other propagation problems. Residents living near prisons have also complained about disruption to their mobile services. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Gurgaon | Silver Rate in Gurgaon | Bank Holidays in Gurgaon | Public Holidays in Gurgaon | Gurgaon AQI | Weather in Gurgaon | Petrol Price in Gurgaon | Diesel Price in Gurgaon | CNG Price in Gurgaon | LPG Price in Gurgaon Stay updated with the latest Gurgaon news. Download the TOI App.