Pramesh S Jain
Even as residents living around Parappana Agrahara Central Prison complain of poor mobile network due to high-tech signal jammers installed inside the facility, videos have once again surfaced showing inmates freely using mobile phones and watching television inside their cells.
While the prison authorities denied basic facilities for Kannada actor Darshan,several other high-profile inmates appear to be living a comfortable and privileged life behind bars.
Among them is Umesh Reddy,once known as India’s most notorious serial rapist,who has allegedly been enjoying a luxurious lifestyle inside the jail with access to mobile phones and a television.
Reddy,who terrorised women between 1996 and 2002, was accused of rape and murder of several women and facing 30 years of life term,Reddy later claimed to be mentally unstable in an attempt to escape the gallows.
However,a medical examination conducted at NIMHANS Hospital confirmed that his brain was perfectly normal, exposing his act.
Following a mercy petition,the Supreme Court in 2022 commuted his death sentence to 30 years of imprisonment without remission.
Reddy is now lodged at Parappana Agrahara Central Prison in Bengaluru and is reportedly nearing the end of his jail term.
Despite being kept with other convicts in the regular cell block,recent videos showing Reddy using two Android smartphones and a keypad phone inside the jail have gone viral,raising serious concerns about prison discipline and security lapses.
Another video purportedly shows Tarun Raju,an accused in the gold smuggling case,using a mobile phone and even cooking food within the prison.
Despite being lodged in jail,reports now suggest that Tarun enjoys special privileges similar to VIP inmates, raising serious questions about corruption and lax supervision within the prison.
Another video of ISIS terror case Juhad Hameed Shakeel,a most wanted ISIS operative lodged at Parappana Agrahara,is reportedly enjoying luxury facilities inside the prison,including access to a smartphone.
Shakeel,who was arrested for recruiting youths into the ISIS network,is said to be living a relaxed and privileged life behind bars—a sharp contrast to the strict conditions expected for high-risk inmates.
Reports claim he has been using a mobile phone freely and communicating with contacts outside the prison.
The revelations have triggered outrage and raised serious concerns about security lapses and corruption within the state’s central jail system.
Locals have also complained that the strong network jammers installed around the prison have disrupted their mobile signal,even as inmates appear to use phones without restriction.
The prison officials yet to confirm the videos and action initiated .
