The Kerala government has sent a request to the Union home ministry seeking a probe by the National Investigation Agency into the international phone calls made by prisoners lodged in jails across the state.
Prison authorities have undertaken a drive to seize mobile phones being used in jails and the NIA has been kept in the loop as it is largely suspected that some of these calls could have been made to extremist groups.
After getting a tipoff that some inmates continued to have links with extremist groups and have been carrying hawala transactions from inside the prison, authorities have been on their guard. Jail authorities have gone a step ahead and prepared a report that points out that at least 2,000 phone calls have been made from behind the bars in the past two to three years.
The report was based on raids conducted by the jail department after allegations that Kerala Congress-B leader R Balakrishna Pillai violated prison rules and used a mobile phone in jail. During the raids, it was found that mobile phone usage by prisoners was rampant.
According to additional director general of police (prisons) Alexander Jacob, they have investigated the matter, but the nature of calls can be ascertained only by central agencies. Hence India's premier terror investigation wing, the NIA needs to be roped in, he said.
NIA sources say they are yet to receive orders to begin the probe. Terror modules in Kerala have kept the NIA on its toes. The modules are spread across the state, their ideologies differ and moreover, self-motivated modules are on the rise, said an NIA official.
Intelligence Bureau officials point out that the most calls made from prison could be related to hawala transactions. This provides oxygen of sorts for terror activities and operatives realise the importance of terror funds. The government has not been able to streamline hawala transactions. The fact that cell phones could be smuggled into prison only goes on to show the sheer desperation of keeping the business alive even from inside jails, said an IB official.
At least 500 hawala operators are lodged inside prisons across the state and they have recruited new members to keep the 'business' flourishing, said insiders.
Hawala remittance into Kerala is on the rise. But it would be incorrect to say that all the money being remitted from the Gulf are through illegal transactions, said NIA officials.
Records in our possession would show that since 2002 till this year illegal transactions through hawala have amounted to nearly Rs 3,200 crore. The racket in Kerala is operated largely from Dubai and 40 men have been identified from the emirate, who deal with transactions in the southern state alone, said an NIA officer.
Most of the money is pumped into jewellery stores and other business in areas such as Kochi, Palakkad, Mallapuram and Kannur. The daily transfer of funds is estimated between a whopping Rs 10 and Rs 14 crore, according to police and IB reports.
However, investigators have never been able to crack down on hawala operators in the state. Interrogating suspects have only resulted in vague details and probe agencies believe that these operations have immense political backing.
But once the case is handed over to the NIA, the jail authorities say, they expect a breakthrough. The NIA can seek call records and commence their investigation into the case.
However, the NIA feels that there is a need for more manpower to investigate this case. "We are hopeful that the inclusion of 500 more officials would make the job easier and effective," said a NIA officer.
