Fellow inmates assault, threaten undertrial prisoner with death at Mangaluru prison, demand money

Mangaluru: An undertrial prisoner at a Mangaluru prison was reportedly assaulted and threatened with death by fellow inmates demanding money.

A complaint has been registered by the Jail Superintendent Sharanabasappa at the Barke Police Station.

According to the complaint, undertrial prisoner Mithun was lodged in Cell No 5 of Block B in connection with a case registered at Ullal Police Station on April 25.

It has been alleged that other undertrial prisoners - Dhanush Bhandari, Sachin Talapady, Dileesh and Layi Veigas conspired and assaulted Mithun around 5 pm on July 9.

The suspects had allegedly demanded Rs 50,000 from Mithun, threatening to kill him if he failed to pay. They also warned him against reporting the incident to jail staff or officials.

Fearing for his life, Mithun remained silent. Under coercion, he called his wife using the jail phone booth and arranged for Rs 20,000 to be transferred via PhonePe to numbers reportedly belonging to Sachin.

The incident came to light on July 12, when senior police officials, including the Assistant Commissioner of Police and Barke Police Inspectors, visited the prison for inspection.

Mithun then provided a written complaint to the Jail Superintendent. Based on the complaint, Barke police have registered a case against the undertrial prisoners.