The arms were discovered in a two-hour long search, carried out on the directions of the new Inspector General (Prisons) Mahavir Singh. The recovery points at an apparent nexus between the jail officials and inmates.

A jail official on condition of anonymity said: “Senior officials are looking for the person(s) responsible for the laxity in security and may take action against them.”

Though IG (Prisons) Mahavir Singh did not respond to repeated phone calls, Inspector General of Police S K Sharma confirmed the recovery. He added that the police were looking into the matter.

About the search, sources said the police were asked to thoroughly check barrack numbers 4 and 9. “We found the weapons, which could either be used burrow a tunnel or kill a person. Now, we are scanning the records to ascertain the names of the people who came to visit the accused in the barracks,” said a jail official.