BANGALORE: Following an exclusive report published in the newspaper The New Indian Express, the government has ordered an inquiry into the charge that women prisoners are being forced to have sex with male inmates at the Bangalore Central Jail, Home Minister K J George announced on Friday.
He told reporters that a senior official in the Women and Child Welfare Department would look into the published report, which brought to light a letter from women prisoners alleging sexual abuse.
The letter addressed to the Chief Justice of Karnataka states that officials collect `300-`500 and force women inmates to service men prisoners. “We will take stern action against prison officials if the reports are found to be true,” he said. The government has already constituted a committee headed by Additional Chief Secretary V Umesh to review the guidelines to prevent sexual abuse in prisons, he said.
Home Minister K J George has also pulled up prison officials and sought a detailed report. Speaking to the media at Vidhana Soudha, George said, “I have asked officials to submit a detailed report on how prisoners are sent on parole, and explain why no complaint has been filed if prisoners actually jumped parole.” He promised strict action against the errant prison staff. Law Minister T B Jayachandra said three months of parole after just three months in jail was ‘unacceptable’. “We have clear rules on allowing prisoners out on parole for good conduct after they have served three-fourths of their terms. I will discuss the loopholes with legal experts and make the law airtight,” he said.
The letters by the female inmates, copies of which have been accessed by The Sunday Standard, seek the Chief Justice’s intervention to end the rampant exploitation of women convicts. One of the letters lists the names of wardens and officials who send convicts to male prisoners, and extort bribes. The women are allegedly fleeced for everything: they pay `200 to `300 just to meet relatives, even though the visits are legitimate. Officials have created an environment where nothing can be accessed without money. This forces women convicts to give in to their pressure, the letter, written in Kannada, states. “If we don’t pay, they yell at us like they would at dogs, and don’t allow us to talk to our relatives,” it says.
Food Court
If the alleged flesh trade inside the jail tells a shocking story of misuse of power, the wardens’ greed for food shows their extreme pettiness. “We have to give them an equal share of the food brought in by our relatives, or they take away everything from us,” states the letter.
The wardens taunt the women, saying they are in jail to suffer and not to eat good food or dress up neatly.
“If you enjoy such things, then what is the point of your conviction?” is the officials’ line. A senior woman official isn’t heeding the grievances, and allegedly brushes them off saying, “I don’t come here to listen to your complaints.” The wardens allegedly allowed two prisoners — a woman convicted for having her husband murdered, and an English-speaking undertrial — to keep their mobile phones with them. When other inmates asked them about it, the women allegedly said they had paid off the officials to use the phones. They said the others inmates can also enjoy the privilege if they had the money. The wardens allegedly threaten to report inmates for misbehaviour and ruin their parole chances if they complain to the higher authorities. The women prisoners seek relief from harassment by the jail’s six women wardens so that they could complete their terms in peace.
When The Sunday Standard contacted the Deputy Inspector General (Prisons) P M Jaisimha, he denied the allegations. “Even I don’t go to the female prisoners’ cell,” he said. Additional Inspector-General of Prisons V S Raja said not everything could be monitored since the jail was short of staff.
Jumping Parole
Many prisoners convicted of murder and heinous crimes are roaming the streets, thanks to Bangalore jail authorities not reporting those who jump parole. The rampant misuse of parole exposes a porous system that jail officials are exploiting, allegedly for personal gain. Prisoners out on parole tell stories of rampant corruption behind the imposing stone walls.
Extensive research at The Sunday Standard involving the study of hundreds of documents, suggests a scandal of massive proportions at the Bangalore Central Prison in Parappana Agrahara. For example, since June, 24 convicts from this jail have jumped parole, but the authorities have neither brought this to the notice of the courts, as mandated, nor filed any complaint with the police.
The jail authorities are flouting procedures relating to the monitoring of convicts, and misleading the courts as they exploit a loophole in the law. According to the Karnataka Prisons Act, a prisoner can be released initially for a period not exceeding 30 days, which may be extended by up to 30 days at a time, provided “the total period of release at a stretch shall not exceed 90 days”.
The Karnataka Prisons Act does not specify whether the 90-day parole allowed is for the entire sentence or a year. Prison officials are using this grey area to make their own rules. Additional Inspector General of Prisons V S Raja said prisoners were being released for 90 days every six months. A policeman who knows the workings of the Bangalore prison described it as “paradise” for those who know their way around. Since June, eight convicts have been out on regular parole beyond 90 days, in violation of all norms.
A High Court division bench comprising Justice K Bhaktavatsala and Justice K N Keshavanarayana (now retired) had taken suo motu notice of the irregularities when they came to know that a convict had jumped parole and stayed out for two years. The bench directed the government to file a report on the number of prisoners who had jumped parole, and action taken.
The government filed a report saying 81 convicts had jumped parole. A shocked bench had taken note of prisoners being at large for up to 14 years, and said it indicated “how the prisons’ wing in the state is functioning”. The judges instructed prison officials to submit daily reports to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate and Chief Jurisdictional Magistrate about prisoners released on parole. The jail authorities are submitting reports as and when they please, and not every day.
On April 9, the bench ordered the Home Department to arrest all 81 convicts before May 30 and initiate action against jail officials who had turned a blind eye to the rampant abuse of parole. But to date, the Home Department has not taken action against any jail official.
Living Life King Size
In Bangalore Central Prison luxury is on offer for inmates who know their way around. The Sunday Standard spoke to prisoners out on parole, who confirmed a prison cell could turn into a cosy pad, complete with a TV and couch, for a monthly consideration. Most convicts sleep in packed dormitories, and not everyone is entitled to a cell. But those who pay an ‘advance’ of `20,000 and a monthly ‘rent’ of `10,000 are given separate cells. The money allegedly goes into the pockets of jail officials.
Ganglords and their henchmen, incarcerated after big crimes, book these cells, which come with attached toilets.
“A dormitory houses up to 100, and privacy is hard to come by. Gangs rent these cells so they can stay together and hatch plans using their mobile phones,” a source said. Some convicts do enjoy perks, admits a top jail official.
But he offers a justification. “We keep them with their friends so that they do not commit suicide out of depression or loneliness,” Additional Inspector-General of Prisons V S Raja told The Sunday Standard. Some men stand outside the gates and ply stuff for the prisoners. “If you pay, you can get anything: food, drinks, groceries, cigarettes and even ganja,” he told The Sunday Standard.
In August this year, during a surprise raid, the Parappana Agrahara police seized 10 kg of ganja from inside the prison. A police source said the tip-off came from the man who had sold the ganja to prison officials. “When we asked jail staff about the sack of ganja, they said someone had dropped it off at the prison gates,” he said. But they had no answer why they had not filed a complaint, as required.
A few months ago, a woman was caught carrying about 200 SIM cards, but prison staff did not lodge a police complaint, the source said. Alok Kumar, Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), had issued strict orders, saying everybody and everything going inside the prison gates must be checked. “But without the cooperation of the Prisons Department, there is little we can do. It has been over three months since the ganja was seized. We are yet to get a report from them,” another police official said.