'Hard to Digest': Prisoner in India Swallows Mobile to Hide It, Doctors Remove It After Surgery

Mobile phones are the most commonly-smuggled items in prisons, as in most jurisdictions, inmates are prevented from having them to stop them from communicating with the outside world and address other security issues.

In an attempt to hide a mobile phone from prison authorities, an inmate in Tihar Jail in India’s national capital Delhi swallowed it. However, doctors later removed it via a successful surgery.

An endoscopy was performed at G.B. Pant Hospital in the capital city to extract the 7 cm long, 3 cm wide device. It was brought out through the mouth with the help of a snare, a piece of equipment that is inserted into the endoscope.

Dr. Siddharth of GB Pant Hospital's Department of Gastroenterology, who performed the endoscopy, told the media that the patient, who had ingested a foreign body, was brought to the hospital on 15 January.

"An X-ray of his abdomen was done which revealed that it could be a mobile phone. Endoscopy was done through the mouth and the mobile was caught using a snare. The mobile was taken out through the mouth," Dr Siddharth said.

"Usually jail inmates do it to hide it from authorities. It can be swallowed only by people who are habituated to doing this. It is a technically demanding procedure and requires skill to take the big bag out," he added.

Dr Siddharth further said that he has handled ten similar cases in the hospital so far.