Three special teams formed by the Karnataka Police to look into the matter of luxury treatment given to Kannada superstar Darshan, an accused in a kidnap and murder case, inside the Bengaluru Central Jail, launched their investigation on Tuesday, August 27.
The teams have been directed to complete the probe quickly, and are likely to grill Darshan and others soon. The police teams have been formed by DCP (South East) Saarah Fathima and the FIRs are booked with the Parappana Agrahara police station.
According to sources, one of the teams will probe how Darshan got in touch with rowdy elements in the prison, who arranged chairs for them on the lawn outside the barrack and how coffee mugs and banned substances like cigarettes enter the jail premises.
The second team will look into who clicked the photos and recorded the video call by Darshan. The team will probe how they got the mobiles inside the prison, and how they managed to get an Internet connection.
The third team will probe the dereliction and negligence of duty by the jail officers, sources stated. M Somashekar, DIG Prisons, has filed three complaints with the Parappana Agrahara police station. One of the FIRs is lodged under Section 42 of the Prisons Act in which Darshan is named as accused number one.
Darshan’s manager Nagaraj, history sheeters Wilson Garden Naga and Kulla Seena are also named as accused persons. All of them were seen in the viral photograph showing Darshan sitting in a chair on the lawn and holding a coffee mug in one hand and a cigarette in another.
The second case is also booked under Section 42 of the Prisons Act and Darshan is again the prime accused in the case. Prison inmates Dharma and Satya are named as second and third accused persons.
The third FIR regarding the case is lodged under Section 42, 54 (1) (A) of the Prisons Act and Sections 238 and 323 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act. Darshan is not named as an accused in the case, sources stated.
Darshan is lodged in Bengaluru Central Prison with 13 accused people in the case of kidnapping and murder. The 13 include his partner, the main accused Pavithra Gowda. Another four accused are lodged in Tumkur district prison.
The Karnataka prisons department has suspended a total of nine staff, including two jailers for allowing Darshan to smoke a cigarette and drink coffee inside the prison.
The video of Darshan had gone viral on Sunday. In the video, Darshan’s manager and other two jail inmates can also be seen sitting with him.
The development has stirred controversy in the state, raising questions about the functioning and rampant corruption in the prisons department. Many also recalled similar incidents in 2017 from the same jail where late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s aide Sasikala had been lodged. CCTV footage from the time showed Sasikala meeting visitors for hours on end and moving out of her prison block carrying a bag.