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The Karnataka government on Monday, November 10, took disciplinary action against three senior officers of Bengaluru Central Jail after videos allegedly showing inmates enjoying undue privileges surfaced online.
Home Minister G Parameshwara announced that Chief Superintendent K Suresh has been transferred, while Superintendent Imamsab Myageri and Assistant Superintendent Ashok Bhajantri have been suspended. An IPS officer will now be put in charge of Parappana Agrahara Jail in Bengaluru, he added.
The move follows the circulation of several videos on social media allegedly showing inmates with access to televisions and smartphones inside their barracks. One of the clips reportedly shows Umesh Reddy — a convicted serial rapist and murderer — using two Android phones and a keypad mobile inside the prison. Between 1996 and 2002, Umesh was accused of 18 murders and 20 rapes across Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Gujarat. He was eventually convicted in nine cases and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Another video appears to show Zuhaib Hameed Shakeel Manna (also reported as Juhad Hamid Shakil Manna), an alleged operative of the banned outfit ISIS, drinking tea and scrolling through a phone, with the sound of a television or radio in the background. Other inmates, including gold-smuggling accused Tarun Raju, were also seen using mobile phones and even cooking inside the prison.
Parameshwara said that while some of the videos were old, there were confirmed lapses in prison management.
“The media had reported that an unlawful incident had occurred. A meeting was held to verify the truth of the matter. An investigation has been conducted regarding the media reports. Some videos have been circulating, however, they are from 2023, not from yesterday or the day before. Some photos, only one or two, are from three to four months ago,” he told reporters in Bengaluru.
The Home Minister said a high-power committee has been constituted to investigate the lapses and review prison administration across the state. The committee will be headed by R Hitendra, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order), with Inspector General of Police Sandeep Patil, and Superintendents of Police Amaranath Reddy and CB Rishyanth as members.
Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police from districts with major prisons will also serve as co-members of the panel. Parameshwara further announced that a centralised command centre will be set up in Bengaluru to connect and monitor CCTV feeds from all prisons in the state.
