A day after multiple videos emerged showing inmates at the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison using mobile phones and partying inside the jail, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Monday announced the formation of a high-level committee to look into the issue and suspended two prison officials for negligence.
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Addressing a news conference following a meeting with senior officials, Parameshwara said the committee will be headed by R Hitendra, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Law and Order. IPS officers Sandeep Patil, Amarnath Reddy, and C B Risyhanth will also be on the committee. The panel will study the conditions of prisons across the state and submit a comprehensive report within a month, he said.
The minister said three of the leaked videos were shot in 2023, while the remaining two were shot three or four months ago. Three officials have been held responsible in connection with this, Parameshwara said, announcing the immediate transfer of Chief Superintendent of Prison K Suresh, besides the suspension of Superintendent Imamsab Myageri and Assistant Superintendent Ashok Bhajantri.
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“Based on the findings of the high-power committee report and depending on their involvement, officials will be either dismissed or suspended,” he said.
The Home Department will also carry out a technical audit of security apparatus at prisons. Along with it, provision will be made to relay the feed of CCTVs of prisons directly to the offices of senior officials in the Prisons and Correctional Services department, the minister said.
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Among the decisions at the meeting was to separate undertrials from convicts inside the prison. Noting that there were around 5,000 prisoners at Parappana Agrahara jail, Parameshwara said separating the two groups would help curb such activities in the future.
The announcements came even as the Opposition BJP staged a protest against the state government on Monday, accusing it of offering “royal treatment” to “terrorists and rapists” inside the prison. Leader of Opposition R Ashok and BJP state president B Y Vijayendra were detained as they marched towards the Chief Minister’s residence demanding his resignation over the issue.
Asking Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to step down immediately, Ashok accused the Congress government of “appeasing terrorists”. “The prison has turned into a haven for terrorists. They are availing facilities better than in a five-star hotel,” he said. Vijayendra, meanwhile, alleged that terror convicts were enjoying amenities in prison as the Congress encouraged radical elements. “Without support from the government, such an incident would not have happened,” he said, adding that the jail had turned into an entertainment club for ISIS terrorists and Muslim radicals.
The videos showed high-security inmates, including a serial rapist and terror accused, freely using smartphones inside the jail. At least six videos showed prisoners using smartphones, watching television, and moving freely within the premises. One clip shows serial rapist and killer Umesh Reddy sitting beside a TV in his cell and talking on a smartphone, while another captures Juhad Hameed Shakeel Manna, accused of recruiting for the terror group ISIS, using a smartphone.