The police have been trying to curtail the persistent problem of prison inmates getting access to smartphones, but little did they realise that one of their own has also been facilitating this.
- The constable, Dinesh, has been escorting Nazir, accused in the blast case, from jail to court for hearings over three years
- On Wednesday, Dinesh reached the prison with a body warrant for another prisoner
- As per the protocol, he deposited his personal mobile phone at the entrance and managed to pass through Gate 1 with two phones hidden in his trouser pockets
- At Gate 2, alert guards noticed Dinesh walking awkwardly
- Acting on their suspicion, they frisked him and found two highend smartphones with SIM cards
A police constable attached to the City Armed Reserve (CAR) was caught at Bengaluru Central Prison on Wednesday while allegedly trying to take two smartphones with SIM cards to be handed over to T. Nazir, the prime accused in 2008 Bengaluru serial bomb blast case.
The constable, identified as Dinesh, has been working for the CAR (South) for the last five years. According to the police, Dinesh has been escorting Nazir from jail to court for all his hearings over the last three years. On Wednesday around 9.30 a.m., Dinesh reached the prison with a body warrant for another prisoner. As per the protocol, he deposited his personal mobile phone at the entrance and managed to pass through Gate 1 with two phones hidden in his trouser pockets. It was at Gate 2 that alert guards noticed Dinesh walking awkwardly. Acting on their suspicion, they frisked him and found two highend smartphones with SIM cards.
The guards informed their higher-ups who in turn alerted the jurisdictional police. Upon questioning, the police learnt that Dinesh had tried to sneak in the phones to hand them over to Nazir for a bribe of ₹5,000 from associates of the accused. As Dinesh would regularly escort Nazir to court and back to prison, he had been befriended by two associates who struck a deal with him, according to the police.
Dinesh has been booked under under IPC section 424 (dishonest or fraudulent removal or concealment of property), section 42 under the Prison’s Act — penalty for introduction or removal of prohibited articles, into or from prisons and communication with prisoners, and section 13 class-1 subclass-D under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
“We have taken up a case based on the complaint filed by the prison authorities,” M.B. Boralingaiah, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast), said.
