Gujarat Jail: A place of punishment or privilege for wealthy prisoners?
A jail is meant to be a place of punishment — but in Gujarat, if you can afford to spend lakhs of rupees every month, you can enjoy palace-like facilities even behind bars. Corruption in the jail department, which functions under the Gujarat Home Department, is not new. From the shocking 213-foot-long tunnel dug by terrorists involved in the Ahmedabad blast case at Sabarmati Jail to the frequent recovery of banned items from state prisons — all point to deep-rooted corruption.
After a video of BJP worker murder case accused Montu Gandhi alias Montu Namdar went viral, Dr. K. L. N. Rao, head of Gujarat’s prison department, ordered an investigation. It remains to be seen how many proofs the investigating officers will gather and who will face disciplinary action.
Major scandals have happened in Gujarat’s jails?
In the 1990s, underworld don Abdul Latif, imprisoned in Ahmedabad Central Jail, used a mobile phone to give instructions to his gang, who then shot dead builder Sagir Ahmed, considered close to then Chief Minister Shankarsinh Vaghela.
In Sabarmati Jail, known as Gujarat’s most secure prison, UP gangster Atiq Ahmed, in early 2023, plotted the murder of Umesh Pal in Prayagraj (UP) through WhatsApp chats and video calls from inside the jail.
In May 2019, in Bhachau Sub Jail, Jayanti Thakkar alias Jayanti Dumra, an accused in the Jayanti Bhanushali murder case, was caught drinking alcohol with inmates. He even kept his own servant illegally inside the jail for personal services like massages.
And in 2013, terrorists of the Ahmedabad serial blasts case dug a 213-foot-long tunnel inside the supposedly secure Sabarmati Jail.
Such big and small scandals have repeatedly been recorded in the books of the Gujarat Police.
Jail in which Montu Namdar record his videos
Videos of Montu Namdar, seen bathing under the open sky with the help of an elderly inmate and using abusive language, have caused a storm in the prison administration.
Jailed since June 2022, Montu has been lodged in Ahmedabad, Nadiad Bilodara Jail, and now Vadodara Central Jail.
The leaked videos show him bathing, exercising, and moving freely inside the barracks.
Following the viral footage, jail authorities immediately ordered an investigation.
Preliminary findings by Usha Rada, Superintendent of Vadodara Central Jail, revealed that the videos were filmed in Nadiad District Jail.
An inquiry team visited the Nadiad-Bilodara Jail on Thursday to identify the exact spots where the videos were shot.
An official report is expected to be submitted to Dr. Rao within a few days.
Montu Namdar and his criminal activities
Montu Namdar, who once ran a gambling den in Ahmedabad’s Khadiya area and became a millionaire, was arrested by the Ahmedabad Crime Branch in June 2022 in connection with the BJP worker murder case.
Claiming danger to his life in Ahmedabad Jail, he was transferred to Nadiad District Jail within seven months.
In this jail, he reportedly enjoyed access to food, beverages, and even mobile phones.
He has also been accused of jumping parole and escaping from custody.
In March 2025, Kheda Police seized a mobile phone from him during a raid inside Nadiad-Bilodara Jail and filed a new case.
A few days later, the Nadiad District Jail Superintendent filed a report in Ahmedabad Court requesting his transfer to a high-security central jail.
Missing letter from Nadiad District Jail
Before Montu was transferred from Nadiad Jail, the complainant in the murder case had filed an application in the Ahmedabad Sessions Court.
After this application, a letter written by the jail superintendent to the court went missing.
As two separate applications were filed for Montu’s jail transfer, the public prosecutor instructed jail authorities to withdraw one.
On April 24, 2024, Additional Sessions Judge Bharat Bhaskarbhai Jadav ordered Montu Namdar’s transfer to the Vadodara Central Jail.
As per media source.
