‘Banyan leaves, saliva, coins’: How jail inmates charge their mobile phones

The jail inmates told the officers that after battery of their mobile phone gets exhausted, they use to rub Banyan tree leaves to the terminals of battery after removing it.
Ludhiana : Inmates have revealed some bizarre techniques that they use to hide or charge their mobile phones inside the jail.
News of a security breach inside a jail is common now. Despite tight security arrangements, prisoners have full access to mobile phones in their barracks. Inmates are often caught for using mobile phone inside the prison. But how do they sustain their habit?
According to jail staff, there is no socket inside the barracks. But the inmates have a solution for that. They use loose connections to connect their mobile phone charger.
Some of them told officers that after the battery of their mobile phone is exhausted, they rub banyan leaves on the terminals of the battery.
Another way to charge a mobile phone is to rub some saliva on the terminals of the battery. These techniques come in handy whenever they want to use their mobile phone to make an emergency call.
Even currency comes in handy. They also rub a coin on the battery’s terminals to recharge it.
Ludhiana central jail superintendent SP Khanna said after being caught, jail inmates presented a demonstration before officials. He added that the mobile phones recovered were brought in the past and were hidden in secret places.
He added that inmates’ aides threw mobile phones inside the jail from over the compound wall.
“We have increased the security around compound walls. Bringing a mobile phone inside from the main gate of the jail is impossible as the inmate has to cross a three-tier security system before entering the compound,” he added.