The videos doing rounds on social media sparked widespread outrage and raised serious questions about security lapses in the high-security Central Jail in Parappana Agrahara, Bengaluru.
Credit: DH FILE PHOTO
Bengaluru: A bunch of video footages purportedly showing notorious inmates, including a suspected member of a terror outfit,’ using smart phones and enjoying the luxury of watching LED TVs inside the barracks of Parappana Agrahara central prison, went viral on Saturday.
The videos doing rounds on social media sparked widespread outrage and raised serious questions about security lapses in the high-security facility.
However, officials from the prison department, refused to verify the authenticity of the video and didn’t confirm about facilities given to inmates.
In the first video, notorious serial rapist Umesh Reddy, is seen using two smartphones and watching television. He is seen enjoying an ‘item song’ on a table-top LED TV, while talking over the phone.
Reddy, who terrorised women across the state between 1996 and 2002, was convicted for multiple cases of rape and murder.
In another video, Tarun Raju, an accused in the gold smuggling case along with actor Ranya Rao, was seen using a mobile phone and cooking his own food on the prison premises. Reports suggest he enjoys privileges similar to those of VIP inmates, pointing to possible ‘administrative lapses’.
Another video purportedly shows Juhad Hameed Shakeel, an accused in an ISIS-related case.
Shakeel, who was arrested for recruiting youths into the ISIS outfit, is seen enjoying access to gadgets and other comforts inside the jail, in sharp contrast to the strict restrictions expected for high-risk inmates.
Residents living around Parappana Agrahara central prison complain of poor mobile network due to high-tech signal jammers installed inside the facility. But the videos show inmates using mobile phones with uninterrupted network coverage and watching HD quality videos inside their cells.
DH tried to reach senior police officers for a comment, but in vain.