Bhubaneswar: In a bid to strengthen prison security and prevent jailbreaks, the Odisha prisons directorate has begun installing AI-enabled surveillance cameras that create virtual security lines along jail perimeter walls. Any breach of these lines triggers sirens and alerts jail authorities instantly. These sophisticated cameras are designed to detect unusual activities, such as attempts to scale the perimeter walls of jails.Director general (prisons) Susanta Kumar Nath said the initiative has been rolled out on a pilot basis in Dhenkanal jail. “In the first phase, 16 AI cameras were installed at Dhenkanal. Gradually, 17 more prisons, including those in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri, Berhampur and Sambalpur, will be brought under this system. The existing conventional cameras will be replaced,” Nath added.Deputy inspector general (prisons) Biren Sahoo highlighted that the cameras are designed not only to detect trespassing but also to identify suspicious objects being thrown into prison premises. The move is expected to significantly curb smuggling of contraband and enhance overall prison safety across the state. “There were instances where narcotics concealed in tennis balls, mobile phones and even weapons were hurled over boundary walls. The AI system can detect such activities and raise alarms,” he said.The AI technology will analyse real-time footage, identifying suspicious movements and behaviours that deviate from normal patterns. Sahoo likened the technology to a ‘laxman rekha’— a virtual boundary that cannot be crossed unnoticed. “Whenever a person or object passes through the vulnerable zone marked by the AI cameras, buzzers will sound and email alerts will be sent to prison authorities,” Sahoo added.The move comes after a series of jailbreaks which took place in several districts last year. On Sept 17, an under-trial prisoner, accused of attempting to kill his mother in Sundargarh district, escaped from a special jail in Rourkela by jumping from an unoccupied watchtower. Two under-trial prisoners from Bihar, accused of killing two men during an attempted robbery at a jewellery shop in Jajpur district last Jan, escaped from Odisha’s most secure Choudwar circle jail in Cuttack on Oct 2. In Balasore district, a theft accused from Jharkhand escaped from Soro sub-jail on Oct 21 by jumping from an 18-ft wall over the prison with the help of a blanket.
