Police officials in Bengaluru found a number of illicit items including weapons like knives and daggers, besides mobile phones and sim cards, after a raid was carried out at the city’s Parappana Agrahara jail. The raid was carried out by officers of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) in the wee hours of July 10 as part of a routine check. Raids are conducted at frequent intervals to check if inmates possess any contraband or indulge in criminal activities in the prison. Chief Superintendent of Parappana Agrahara Jail, Ranganath, said that every three months, prison cells are checked and the raid conducted in the wee hours of July 10 was no different.
“The Central Crime Branch officers conduct a raid every three months in the prison and today’s was no different. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the cells of the prisoners had not been checked and thus a raid was carried out today. During the raid, sharp objects cut from utensils provided to the prisoners, a couple of mobile phones and sim cards were found in their possession. We are investigating further,” said Ranganath.
Ranganath said that CCB officials arrived to conduct checks at 5 am in the morning, which went on until 8 am. Further investigations are underway. “We will also investigate whether the jail staff were involved,” he added when asked about whether they suspected the involvement of staff.
Sandeep Patil, Joint Commissioner of Bengaluru Police (Crime), tweeted photos of the contraband seized from the prisoners and wrote that the CCB officials had recovered pairs of scissors, ganja and smoking pipes from the inmates, apart from knives, phones and sim cards.
To monitor rowdy activities, Early morning raids conducted at Parapanna Agrahara Jail by CCB team along with Dog squad..Ganja, ganja smoking pipes, mobiles, SIMS, knives seized.. further action to be taken.. pic.twitter.com/xucuMatJOM
— Sandeep Patil IPS (@ips_patil) July 10, 2021
The city police simultaneously raided the homes of over 2,000 rowdies and history-sheeters across Bengaluru and said that they seized arms and narcotic substances. Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant said that land documents, mobile phones, sim cards and vehicles without valid documents were also seized for examination and verification. He also mentioned in a tweet that over 1,500 rowdy sheeters have been taken in for questioning.
Lethal weapons, illegal arms, narcotic substances found during the raid have been seized.
— Kamal Pant, IPS (@CPBlr) July 10, 2021
Besides, land documents, mobile phones, sim cards, and vehicles without valid documents have been seized for examination and verification. (2/3)
Speaking to TNM, DCP (North), Dharmendra Kumar Meena said that the police often keep a tab on rowdy sheeters. He also said that many of them had not been showing up in court for their cases.
“The rowdies’ homes are often raided by the concerned police station at regular intervals to monitor their activities, check whether they attend judicial proceedings and also to know their whereabouts. Usually, the police department carries out these raids as per convenience. We have seized arms like daggers, long knives and nearly 20 grams of ganja from the houses of the rowdy sheeters. The police will initiate punitive action under the legal provisions against them,” Meena added.
Usually, concerned police personnel raid different areas on different days; and rowdy sheeters would go into hiding in another area to avoid detection, he said. He added that the entire force decided to conduct a widespread raid on July 10, to prevent this.