Prison videos which went viral were from BJP's tenure: G Parameshwara

Belagavi: Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Thursday clarified that the videos of the inmates possessing banned items in Parappana Agrahara Central Prison, which went viral recently, were shot during the BJP’s tenure.

While replying to the question by BJP MLC Kishore Kumar Puttur in the Legislative Council on Thursday, he said, “I am not passing on the blame, but I have verified the videos and I can provide proof that they were recorded during the BJP’s tenure. The videos which went viral recently were very old, I even have a timeline of those videos.”

Meanwhile, Parameshwara informed the House that the new Prisons DG, who was appointed recently, had raided Parappana Agrahara Prison and seized over 60 mobile phones.

“Not just phones, the officials have even seized knives. We are even aware that drugs enter the prison. I am not escaping from my responsibilities. The inquiry against the officers is going on and we will not spare them if they are found guilty,” the minister said.

However, Parameshwara said that the government was considering the petitions of the residents in and around prisons and trying to find a technical solution for the jammers issue. “As we have installed jammers, the residents around the prisons are unable to get a phone network. We are discussing with the service providers for a solution,” he said.

As per the data provided in the last two years, 153 cases were registered against prisoners using/having banned items from prisons across the state.