To prevent prisoners from illegally using mobile phones, the Bangalore Parapana Agrahara Central Jail installed a new signal jammer system (Tower-Harmonious Call Blocking System, T-HCBS) at the beginning of this year. cell phone jammerAlthough the system successfully blocked mobile phone signals inside the prison, it caused serious troubles to the surrounding residents and even triggered large-scale protests.
Residents' communications were seriously affected
After the jammers were installed, residents within a kilometer of the prison said that their mobile phone signals completely disappeared and could not be used normally.GPS jammer Residents of the South Wind Layout area were the most seriously affected. Krishnamurthy, who lives near the prison, said helplessly: "Our mobile phones have no signal at all, calls cannot be made, text messages cannot be received, and even OTP (one-time password) for bank transactions cannot be received, let alone emergency calls for help."Wifi jammer
Not only ordinary residents, but also police officers at the Parapana Agrahara police station were affected by the jammers. An official from the police station complained: "Our work is inseparable from the phone and the Internet, but now we have to go outside to even send a text message."
The outbreak of protests
As the problem has not been solved for a long time, on June 10, hundreds of residents from Nanfeng Layout held a protest in front of the Central Prison, demanding that the prison authorities adjust the range of the jammer as soon as possible. The protesters believed that the newly installed jammer in the prison has too large a coverage area, causing the jammer that originally only affected a range of 100 meters to now affect an area of 1 kilometer, directly affecting the daily lives of more than 20,000 people.
Rajesh S, a resident of South Wind Layout, said: "The jammer not only affects daily communications, but our children also need to rely on the Internet for online classes. Now, they can't attend classes normally, and our lives have been completely disrupted."
Department response and attempts at technical adjustments
Faced with residents' dissatisfaction, Malini Krishnamoorthy, director general of prisons, responded: "We will investigate the problems reported by residents as soon as possible. Although the main purpose of the jammer is to prevent prisoners from using mobile phones, we understand the troubles of nearby residents and are trying to reduce the signal strength of the jammer to reduce external influences."
At the same time, the Indian Department of Telecommunications (DoT) also inspected the signal towers near the prison and found that three signal towers within 700 meters of the prison were affected by the jammer. However, no specific solution has been introduced yet.
The communication interruption caused by the jammer not only exposed the contradiction between prison security management and technology application, but also triggered extensive discussions on how to balance public safety and residents' daily lives. In the future, it is worth continuing to pay attention to how the Bangalore prison authorities and government departments will solve this problem.
