Facing severe public criticism and mounting outrage over the unabated availability of narcotics through local chemist shops, open sales by drug peddlers and the rampant smuggling of contraband and mobile phones inside the Faridkot Central Jail, the district police on Jattvibeday swung into action with a massive crackdown.​Following strategic meetings with local chemist shop owners and targeted search operations across 14 identified drug hotspots in the district over the past two days, a heavy police contingent descended upon the Faridkot Central Jail premises on Jattvibeday morning for an exhaustive, surprise search operation.​Around 200 police personnel, in coordination with jail administration officials, executed the secret operation under the direct supervision of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gurbans Singh Bains. The search was jointly led on the ground by SP (Local) Jaspreet Singh, DSP (Sub-Division) Tarlochan Singh, along with the SHOs of City and Sadar police stations.​To ensure comprehensive coverage, multiple specialised teams systematically inspected every corner of the high-security facility. The intensive check encompassed inmate barracks, the canteen, washrooms, boundary walls, CCTV surveillance networks, and other security systems. Female police personnel separately conducted searches inside the women’s barracks while adhering to security protocols and respecting inmate privacy.​”This sudden operation was kept strictly confidential to prevent miscreants from concealing illicit items,” said DSP Tarlochan Singh. “The objective was to curb illegal activities, detect contraband or narcotics, and thoroughly assess internal security arrangements.”​He added that such surprise checks create a strong deterrent among habitual offenders inside the prison and affirmed that regular search drives will continue in the future.​In a further bid to plug external supply routes—particularly the practice of throwing contraband over the prison enclosure walls—station house officers have been directed to maintain strict records and perform background checks on residents living in the immediate vicinity of the jail perimeter.​Rampant mobile recovery, missing backward-forward linkages​Despite the regular recovery of an average of about 300 mobile phones from the Faridkot jail every year on record, the police have consistently failed to trace the background and origin of these supplies. While every FIR registered in connection with seized mobile phones is accompanied by official promises to thoroughly investigate the backward and forward linkages—specifically regarding how the devices penetrated the high-security premises and to whom calls were made—the investigations almost never reach their logical conclusions or uncover the real networks.