Jail Inmates harass undertrial, extort Rs15 lakh

The Barke police have registered a case against the inmates of the district prison for assaulting an undertrial and extorting Rs 15 lakh from him.

According to the police, the undertrial, Sirin Madhusoodan, a branch manager of the Kuloor branch manager of the Indian Overseas Bank, was lodged in the district prison, in connection with the illegal transfer of Rs 55 crore belonging to the KRIDL.

The accused, Tilak of Kodikere gang, and his associates, Shivu, Mithun, Nikhil, Raju and Charan, among the eight inmates, were also housed in the same cell as that of Sirin. The gang demanded money from Sirin and when the latter refused to pay, they reportedly assaulted him and demanded a share from the misappropriated amount.

The gang also forced Sirin to call his parents to arrange for the money. When Sirin refused to do so, they harassed him, said his parents, in a complaint to the Barke police. Sirin's parents further stated in the complaint that they had paid total Rs 15 lakh, in three instalments, to the gang.

The Barke police said that a case had been registered and an investigation was in progress. The police are looking into how the phone calls were made and how the money reached the inmates.