BENGALURU: Members of the five teams formed to probe the alleged special treatment to 47-year-old actor Darshan Thoogudeepa visited the Bengaluru Central Prison on Tuesday afternoon.
The officers in-charge of the teams had sought permission from the court as it is mandatory to question the inmates inside the jail premises. The court granted them permission earlier in the day.
City Police Commissioner B Dayananda, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Chandragupta and other officers visited the prison in the evening.
Meanwhile, the government issued orders posting K Suresha as chief superintendent of Bengaluru Central Prison after chief superintendent V Seshumurthy’s suspension. Prisons DIG Somashekar has been transferred. Divyashri has been made new DIG, Prisons.
CM Siddaramaiah told reporters that nine officers have been suspended for providing special treatment to Darshan inside the jail. “If other officers are involved, they will also be suspended,” he added.
Of the five teams, three will probe the three FIRs registered in Parappana Agrahara police station on Monday. The three complaints were filed by Somashekar, Deputy Inspector General (Prisons). Other teams will check details of visitors who met Darshan and other accused in the Renukaswamy murder case and the CCTV recordings of Darshan and rowdy sheeters Wilson Garden Naga and Kulla Seena in the prison.
When sleuths of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) went to raid the prison premises on Saturday, they were allegedly made to wait outside for more than 30 minutes. They were told that they would be allowed inside only after the arrival of the jail superintendent. When the sleuths were waiting outside, four boxes were said to be shifted from barrack No 10, where Darshan is lodged.
The teams, supervised by Deputy Commissioner of Police (South East) Sarah Fathima, will probe this aspect also.
The teams will probe how Darshan got in touch with rowdy elements in the prison, who provided chairs, coffee and cigarettes to them and who clicked the photos by sneaking a mobile phone inside the prison. The officers will also look into how the actor managed to make a video call from the prison.
Darshan, rowdy sheeters Wilson Garden Naga, Kulla Seena and Darshan’s manager Nagaraj have been named as accused in the first FIR. In the second FIR pertaining to the video call, Darshan, Dharma and Sathya have been named as accused. In the third, jail staffers KS Sudarshan, Paramesh Nayak and Rayamane KB have been accused of shifting the boxes outside the barrack after the arrival of CCB sleuths.