Pramesh S Jain
A city court on Tuesday remanded former MP Prajwal Revanna, who is serving a life sentence in a rape case, and his prison mate Prathap Rai to two days of police custody in connection with the alleged illegal use of a mobile phone inside Parappana Agrahara Central Prison.
The two were produced before the 42nd Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM)court after the Parappana Agrahara police obtained a body warrant for further investigation.
Police sought their custody to ascertain how the prohibited mobile phone reached Revanna,who provided it to him and how it was being used inside the prison.
The case came to light after the Central Crime Branch (CCB), during a raid at Parappana Agrahara prison on August 11,allegedly recovered a blue smartphone from Revanna.
The device reportedly had Facebook,WhatsApp and other applications installed and was subsequently sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for examination.
According to the investigation,the phone was allegedly being used to communicate with Revanna’s family members and lawyers.
Police also reportedly found that the SIM card used in the phone had been obtained from Andhra Pradesh.
In the FIR registered over the alleged illegal use of a mobile phone inside the prison,Prathap Rai has been named Accused No.1 (A1),while Revanna is Accused No.2 (A2).
During the two-day custody,investigators are expected to question the accused separately to establish who facilitated access to the prohibited device,identify the people contacted using the phone and determine whether any prison personnel assisted in providing the banned electronic equipment.
The police are also examining the FSL report and other digital evidence recovered from the device as part of the investigation.
