In June this year, 29-year-old Nayan Soren was electrocuted while switching on a water pump in Venkatadri Layout, adjacent to the Central Prison Complex in Parappana Agrahara in the southeastern suburbs of the city. As he gasped for breath, those around him made desperate attempts to call an ambulance. But none succeeded as the area is impacted by “jammers” installed at the prison complex. After an inordinate delay, Nayan was taken to a hospital, where he was declared “brought dead”.
Following this incident, residents in the areas around the prison complex affected by the Tower-Harmonics Call Blocking System (T-HCBS), which was installed in the prison in March 2024 to block mobile use by inmates, held multiple protests leading to multi-nodal meetings between residents, prison officials, telecom service providers (TSPs), and the Department of Telecommunication (DoT), but to no avail till date.
A prospective homebuyer in the layout, which is situated to the west of the prison complex, cancelled a nearly finalised property deal after encountering severe mobile network issues. He was concerned about the potential inconvenience poor phone connectivity would entail.
As this property deal unravelled, the media in Karnataka was agog with reports of prison inmates using mobile phones with impunity. A photograph of actor Darshan smoking, chatting with a coffee mug in hand, with rowdy sheeters around a teapoy on a lawn inside the prison, and a recording of a WhatsApp video call were shared widely, exposing not only the preferential treatment the actor got but also the access to mobile signals and internet on the premises.
Basavaraj Hemanoor, a resident of Venkatadri Layout, told The Hindu that the irony was that the T-HCBS was actually impacting the people staying in the vicinity of the prison rather than the jail inmates.
“Even making emergency calls is an ordeal. We cannot carry out any financial transactions as we don’t get OTPs. We cannot order food online. Our lives are crippled, but the prison inmates seem to be having a better life inside than us outside,” he said.
Residents around Parappana Agrahara protest against the jammer installed in the prison since they are unable to use mobile phones. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
A blame game
A day before the photograph and the video call recording went public on August 25, drawing outrage from media and people alike, over 100 investigators from the Central Crime Branch (CCB), Bengaluru City Police, raided the prison around 3 a.m. They were concerned about rowdy sheeters, jailed under the draconian Karnataka Control of Organised Crime Act, 2000 and Goonda Act, using mobile phones and running criminal syndicates from within the prison.
However, to their shock, they found no contraband inside the prison. That led senior officers to check CCTV footage, which revealed prison officials and convicts carting away contraband articles after being tipped off about the raid. A probe into this fiasco is underway.
It was clear that all was not well within the prison complex, forcing the government to act. While the actor was shifted to Ballari District Prison, nine prison officials, including the Chief Superintendent, were suspended, and a Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of this prison was transferred.
The Chief Secretary also served a show-cause notice to Malini Krishnamurthy, Director General of Police, Prisons and Correctional Services. A blame game is on between the Department of Prisons and Correctional Services, Karnataka, and the Department of Telecommunication, Government of India, over the ineffectiveness of T-HCBS installed in the prison at a cost of ₹4.67 crore.
Even as the Department of Prisons and Correctional Services served a notice to DoT and TSPs obliquely holding them responsible for the continued mobile usage inside the prison, DoT, in its response, said T-HCBS cannot “block all calls and mobile network 100%” and categorically said the TSPs cannot be held liable. It also suggested implementing additional technical solutions like jammers at the prison.
DoT also pointed out that test checks of the T-HCBS done in March and again after complaints in August found that the system was working fine.
This is not the first time that the prison authorities are in the dock for preferential treatment to inmates. There were allegations of corruption over alleged favouritism to V.K. Sasikala and Ilavarasi, associates of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha when they served time in 2017.
Prison, a breeding ground for criminal activities
The photograph and video call recording, which went viral, alarmed the police for a different reason. Rowdy sheeters Wilson Garden Naga, Dharma, and Kulla Seena, also a murder convict, were seen sitting together. The visuals also established that they could use mobile phones.
The prison manual strictly bans the mingling of convicts with undertrials. It also mandates segregating prisoners who are facing threats or those who are deemed to be a threat to others in a high-security barrack. However, the photograph showed that the rules were being breached.
Another prison official said UAPA undertrials/terror accused should be kept separately, and the prison officials should monitor them. They should not be allowed to chat with accused/convicts in other crimes. It’s not being strictly implemented in any of the jails in the State, including at the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison. It essentially means the jail authorities hadn’t learnt any lessons over the past decade when two terror modules were birthed inside the same prison due to the intermingling of prisoners.
In 2023, city police busted a terror module put together by one rowdy sheeter, Junaid Ahmed. He is abroad, and his location is unknown. He was in jail in 2017 for a murder case and in 2020 for a red sanders smuggling case when he came in contact with T. Nazir, a terror accused in the 2008 serial bomb blast case and was radicalised, police claimed. This case was even red-flagged at the Union Home Minister’s review meeting of 2024.
The case is similar to a terror conspiracy hatched in the same prison in 2012. Similarly, a rowdy sheeter, Abdul Rehaman, was arrested in multiple cases in 2011. He came in contact with Pakistani citizen Mohammed Fahad Khoya, a convict in two terror cases in Mysuru and Kozhikode, and Afsar Pasha, a convict in the IISc attack case. After coming out on bail, Abdul Rehman put together a terror module outside. He was arrested and convicted of terror charges in 2023.
Other questions Darshan case raised
Several other questions — on vistors being allowed to meet Darshan and outside food being provided to him — are now being raised. Contrary to popular perception, undertrials are allowed to meet family members, friends and advocates. They can also walk around the premises where they are lodged, eat food from outside, and smoke cigarettes but under stipulated conditions.
As per the manual, the items that are banned inside the prison are any acid or corrosive substance, chewing tobacco, alcohol, narcotics, sharp objects, mobile phones and accessories, currency of any kind and all electric gadgets.
A senior official said smoking cigarettes is allowed, and there is a smoker’s zone inside the prison. This is because some inmates might be addicted to smoking, and any withdrawal symptoms might affect their health. However, there have been cases where prison officials and the police have caught people smuggling in narcotics, alcohol, and mobile phones. The usage of ganja is said to be rampant.
The prison manual stipulates the time during which the cells need to be locked and when they can be opened. The cells are opened at 7 a.m., after which they come out for breakfast and can remain outside till 11 a.m. Again, the cells are unlocked at 1.30 p.m. for lunch and shut again at 3 p.m. It’s opened again at 4.30 p.m. and closed at 6 a.m. However, officials said this was not being followed, and on many days, the cells remained unlocked through the day till around 9 p.m.
Also Read: Day after chargesheet against Darshan, photos show Renukaswamy pleading for life before murder
The prison manual even allows the chief superintendent outside food for undertrials if there are sufficient grounds. However, even though allegations that Darshan was allowed food from outside the prison persist, he was on record denied permission to get home food on health grounds. He even approached the High Court of Karnataka twice over the same.
A case of fence eating the crop
Following the visuals of Darshan and other inmates going public, security in all prisons across the State has been tightened. Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara announced a review of the protocols and installation of AI-powered CCTV cameras.
However, senior officials are doubtful if the measures will help. “When it is a case of the fence eating the crop, any high technology will be ineffective. For instance, the failed raid on the prison by CCB shows that the CCTV Monitoring Cell, which is a check and balance within the prison, not only flagged any violations but also cleared out contraband materials before the raid. In such a scenario, what is the use of CCTV monitoring?” asked a senior city police official.
Parappana Agrahara Central Prison Complex, set up in 2000 for a capacity of 2,000 inmates, is today one of the most overcrowded prisons in the country with nearly 5,000 inmates.
“There is a well-entrenched network of convicts and senior inmates who act as liaisons between inmates and officials,” said another officer. “It is also difficult to manage thousands of persons who have come to the jail, mostly after committing some crime. Leeway for some vices and addictions are generally given to even maintain peace and order inside the prison.”
Published - September 06, 2024 07:00 am IST
