BENGALURU: Police have registered a case against five undertrial prisoners for allegedly using mobile phones inside the Bengaluru Central Prison in Parappana Agrahara. Also, three prison staff have been suspended for dereliction of duty in connection with the incident.
The inmates had allegedly video-recorded the usage of mobile phones inside the prison and had circulated the videos, claiming that one of the phones were provided to them by a top-ranking official in the prison department.
According to the FIR registered at Parappana Agrahare police station, the incident took place between 11.47 pm on Friday and 12.53 am on Saturday in tower 01 of the undertrial prisoners’ section. Inmates allegedly recorded videos on mobile phones to oppose a new system of barrack allocation based on alphabetical order and circulated them outside, purportedly to defame the prison administration.
The inmates named in the complaint include Jibson Daniel, Sanjeev, Manoj S, Abhishek R, and Gokul Shivananda.
A surprise inspection conducted on Saturday by the prison authorities led to the seizure of nine mobile phones, six SIM cards, earphones, earpods, and a charger from the barrack.
A senior prisons official said three video clips surfaced on Saturday morning. “Our team identified those responsible and recovered the phones hidden inside a pipe in the toilet chamber,” the official added.
The official added that the act was aimed at disrupting ongoing prison reforms, including the new barrack allocation system.
He also added that the main accused persons in the case are Darshan and Abhishek, who were involved in the Hennur Bande murder case two and a half years ago.
Though Darshan’s name is not mentioned in the FIR as he was not present in that barrack, investigations established his role in the case.
Three warders — Niranjan Kamath, Hanumantappa Hadpad and Shivanand Karlabatti — have been suspended. A case has been registered under the Karnataka Prisons (Amendment) Act, 2022.