In a development in the Arnab Goswami phone use case, the Maharashtra state prison has suspended superintendent of Alibaug district jail Ambadas Patil on Saturday for allowing the journalist to make a call from his phone on the evening of November 5 last year.

Patil has been suspended under the Maharashtra civil services rules.

According to a report by Times of India published on Sunday morning, the additional director-general of prisons Sunil Ramanand stated an inquiry by the "Arthur Road central jail superintendent revealed that Patil unlawfully gave his phone when he was at the makeshift quarantine centre at Alibaug civic school for communication with an outsider".

The ADG also said that there is a witness who has seen Patil handing over his phone to Goswami for more than two minutes. Moreover, phone records of Patil also proved that there was a phone call made on the night of November 5.

Notably, prisoners cannot make phone calls after closing hours of jails except for emergencies.

Earlier, two other staff has been suspended in the previous jail Goswami was lodged for handing over the cell phone to him.