Chandigarh, May 14 (IANS): In a major crackdown on the nexus of gangsters and criminals operating from jails, the Punjab government teams have confiscated 710 mobile phones from prisons in a specially-launched drive. Additionally, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has decided to abandon the special cells in jails for VIP prisoners.

Divulging the details, the Chief Minister said that "during this special drive carried out between March 16 and May 10, a total of 710 mobile phones have been recovered from jail inmates".

He said these phones were used by gangsters and smugglers to run their rackets from inside the jail.

The Chief Minister said that a probe is on to nab the persons on whose names these numbers were registered.

He also said that action will be taken against the jail staff who were involved in sneaking these phones into the prisons.

For abolishing VIP culture in jails, the government has decided to abandon the VIP cells and transform them into administrative blocks.

The Chief Minister said that those lodged in jails are punished by courts for violating the law, and they cannot enjoy facilities while serving a jail term.