Bengaluru: The Karnataka government Monday announced that the central jail will be handled by an IPS officer, while suspending two prison officials and transferring another official after videos of inmates using cell phones and reveling in the jail premises resurfaced last week, leading to a political storm in the state.
The newly viral videos allegedly show notorious inmates, including serial rapist Umesh Reddy and suspected ISIS recruiter Juhad Hameed Shakeel Manna, talking over smartphones and receiving other preferential treatment in Bengaluru’s Parappana Agrahara central jail.
Announcing strict measures in response, Karnataka Home Affairs Minister G. Parameshwara told reporters in Bengaluru Monday, “We have told them [prison officials] very strictly that these kinds of things will not be tolerated by the government. We are very serious about this…it’s not that the government is closing its eyes and watching the fun.”
The state Opposition, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on the other hand, hit the streets in Bengaluru, alleging that the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government was “appeasing terrorists” in jail.
“Royal hospitality is being extended to terrorists who aim to divide the country and kill Hindus,” Karnataka Leader of Opposition R. Ashoka told reporters Monday.
A high-powered probe committee, headed by R. Hitendra, ADGP (Law & Order), will now look into the videos, one of which shows Manna sipping tea, scrolling through a phone, and speaking to the person recording his video.
Four years ago, Manna, a computer applications specialist, with at least one other person, was arrested on suspicion of having sent nearly half a dozen youngsters from Bengaluru to Syria between 2013 and 2014 to join ISIS, reports The Indian Express.
Another video that has added fuel to the fire is of convicted serial rapist Umesh Reddy, using multiple mobile phones, while a filmy song plays on the TV.
These videos could not be independently verified by ThePrint.
According to the home department and senior police personnel, some videos were allegedly shot two years ago. But Parameshwara acknowledged that such incidents had been reported more recently.
Over the past few years, there has been a rise in incidents of prisoners receiving special privileges at Bengaluru’s Parappana Agrahara central jail, prompting concerns about the adequacy of safety measures to prevent such practices.
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‘Command centre’
In October this year, Gubacchi Seena, an alleged criminal involved in murder and dacoity cases, was seen celebrating his birthday, surrounded by friends and associates, cutting a cake with a machete in grand style inside the prison. A garland of apples was also bestowed on him.
In August 2024, Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, the main accused in a murder case, was seen relaxing outdoors, sipping coffee, smoking a cigarette, and even waving during a video call.
In July 2017, allegations that Sasikala, former Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalitha’s aide, paid crores of rupees for her comforts in jail, including a separate kitchen, servants, and the freedom to move in and out, had spread.
The then-deputy inspector general (DIG) of prisons, D. Roopa, submitted a report bringing widespread corruption, drug abuse, mismanagement, and prisoners’ unregulated movement, threats, and assault of medical staff to force them to give favourable reports, among other such serious charges, to the fore.
Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara said that over 1,000 CCTVs are installed across all prisons in the state, and their feed will now be shared with a central command centre in the state prison headquarters.
Parameshwara added that within the next 15 days, a tech audit would be conducted, and the command centre would be set up in Bengaluru.
To break the nexus between police and inmates, the home minister also said that all officials who had served for more than five years in a prison would be moved out immediately.
Parameshwara added that the number of baggage scanners, cell phone jammers, and other equipment would also be doubled to make it harder to smuggle mobile phones, weapons, and other contraband into the prison. The home minister himself would seek the source of the videos from journalists, he said, underlining that any such information should be voluntary.
There are about 5,000 inmates in Parappana Agrahara prison, comprising both undertrials and convicts. This, according to the home minister, increased the chances of violations, proposing the two categories to be housed separately from now on.
The home minister also said that approval had already been given to recruit 197 wardens, 22 instructors, and three assistant superintendents. Approval is also awaited to hire 983 wardens and 17 jailers, he added.
‘Jail or nightclub?’
“When the cooker bomb blast occurred, they called them ‘brother’. They even served biryani to those who shouted ‘Pakistan Zindabad’. The Congress is indirectly supporting terrorists. Despite spending Rs five crore to install hundreds of CCTV cameras in jails, they have been turned off,” LoP R. Ashoka said Monday, squarely blaming the Siddaramaiah-led government.
“Bombs, meat, marijuana, mobiles” were being smuggled inside prisons without being detected, while the intelligence department remained clueless, he alleged.
“Prisoners are using mobiles to blackmail and earn money…Police are cooperating in this. The Congress government has set terrorists free. Just like guarantees, royal hospitality in jail is being provided for free,” Ashoka added.
BJP state president B.Y. Vijayendra, on the other hand, said that the central prison had turned into a “nightclub”.
The BJP has demanded that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) should look into the matter since a terror accused was also involved in the alleged violations, with the matter now falling outside the jurisdiction of the state government, according to the party. Meanwhile, the party intends to go forth with protests and a plan to lay siege to the chief minister’s home Tuesday.
“Take action now. Remove the Jail Supt. Now. Why will do? Send the message of zero tolerance,” Kiran Bedi, former IPS officer and Lt Governor of Puducherry, said in her comment on the incident.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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