MYSURU: Even as viral videos from the central prison in Bengaluru’s Parappana Agrahara expose inmates freely using mobile phones and enjoying VIP treatment, equally shocking revelations have now surfaced from the Mysuru Central Prison right in Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s own backyard.
In exclusive information available with TNIE, Mysuru’s high-security prison appears to have transformed into a full-fledged comfort zone for select inmates, offering everything from liquor, meat, cigarettes and beedis to mobile phones - all available for a price.
Far from being a correctional centre, the facility functions like a recreational hub, where every banned item has its own price tag and official protection.
According to Pavan Siddaramu, a member of the Jail Visiting Board that has collected documents, videos and testimonies (as seen by the reporter) from inside the jail, every item within the prison comes with a fixed rate chart. “While market prices of vegetables for essentials outside fluctuate, inside the jail nothing comes below Rs 150 a kg. Even liquor bottles and non-vegetarian food are ordered every week for those who can afford it,” he said.
He alleges the involvement of a canteen operator and some personnel of the Karnataka State Industrial Security Force who he claims are directly involved in smuggling banned items into the premises.
This is in blatant violation of the Prison Manual right under the nose of the chief superintendent of the prison. While Mysuru city police conduct “surprise visits” and file “nil” reports, the reality is very different, he charged. “These raids are often an eyewash.
If properly conducted, hundreds of SIM cards and mobile phones could be seized every time,” he said and added that only the city police commissioner must answer how many such raids are conducted every year.
He pointed out that the current chief superintendent at the Mysuru Central Prison was earlier posted at the Bengaluru’s Parappana Agrahara jail, which is now at the centre of a nationwide controversy over videos showing inmates with mobile phones and dancing at a party.
“This transfer pattern shows how the same officials continue to control and replicate the same corrupt system across different prisons. The very idea of correctional facilities is being destroyed, and instead, we are creating a parallel mafia network within jails,” Siddaramu alleged.