Bhubaneswar: A staffer of the district jail in Odisha’s Keonjhar has been arrested over illegal possession for narcotic substances.

The Keonjhar Town police arrested Alok Dhada, a warder of Keonjhar District Jail, on the basis of an FIR lodged by Upendra Jena, the Superintendent of the prison.

As per reports, the officials of the jail had found cannabis from the possession of the warder on May 22. The accused had allegedly kept the narcotic substance in his bag while on night duty.

The Superintendent of the jail had lodged an FIR in this regard with police yesterday. On the basis of the complaint, the police arrested the accused warder and produced him in a local court, reports said.

The locals, meanwhile, alleged the involvement of the warder and some other staffers in the smuggling of narcotics into the prison.   

“Some employees of the jail used to smuggle ganja and other narcotic substances and provide them to the inmates. They have accumulated huge sums through the smuggling of narcotics. The state government should assess the properties of the jail officials to detect their ill-gotten wealth,” said lawyer Rabindra Kumar Sethi.