5 instances of prison staff pushing drugs inside Colvale jail in 7 years

Panaji: Prison officials, including a jailor, assistant jailor and a jail guard were allegedly found smuggling cocaine, charas and ganja at the Colvale Central Jail. Records indicate that in the past seven years, authorities detected five separate instances of narcotics being smuggled into the prison.
Chief minister Pramod Sawant said that jail guard Narayan Naik was found carrying two and a half packets of tobacco and two black rounded hard substances suspected to be ‘charas’. “All these contraband articles were found during frisking by the IRBn personnel on Naik while he was attempting to smuggle it into the prison on Oct 25, 2018. Naik was placed under suspension and later reinstated in service. The inquiry against the official is in progress,” Sawant, who also holds the home portfolio, said.
He said that in the second case, jail guard Shambu Naik was found carrying a packet of a contraband item suspected to be ‘ganja’. It was found during frisking by the IRBn personnel on Shambu while he was attempting to smuggle it into the prison on March 13, 2019, the CM said. “Shambu was placed under suspension and subsequently reinstated in service. The inquiry against the said charged official is in progress,” he said.
Sawant said in the third case, a surprise search was conducted by the inspector general of prisons on Oct 24, 2019, in all prison blocks/cells with the assistance of IRBn personnel, the assistant superintendent of Central Jail, Colvale, and the jail officials, during which narcotic substances along with other contraband articles were found in various blocks.
The CM said following the search, govt suspended assistant jailor Ankush Madkaikar who retired on superannuation while on suspension. He said jailor Krishna Usgaonkar and jail guard Keshav Gawas were placed under suspension and later reinstated in service.
In the fourth case, the chief minister said that jail guard Rama Korgaonkar was found carrying two packets of a psychotropic substance suspected to be ‘ganja’. The said item was found during frisking by the IRBn personnel on Korgaonkar while he was attempting to smuggle it into the prison on Sep 12, 2020. “Accordingly, Korgaonkar was placed under suspension and later reinstated in service. The inquiry against the official is in progress,” the CM said.
In the fifth case, Sawant said jail guard Suraj Gawade was found carrying a contraband item suspected to be ‘cocaine’. It was found during frisking by the IRBn personnel while he was attempting to smuggle it into the prison on June 22, 2022. “Gawade is placed under suspension. The process of framing charges against him is under process,” the CM said.