Inmates partying in Bengaluru central jail: Shobha Karandlaje asks Amit Shah to issue SOP for all prisons

New Delhi: Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje on Monday urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to issue a National Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) applicable to all prisons across the country following security lapses in Bengaluru Central Jail where inmates were found partying inside the prisons.

In a letter to Home Minister Amit Shah, the Shobha said that the SOP should include provisions for strict segregation of terror convicts and suspects from the general inmate population, comprehensive surveillance and electronic audits to detect and prevent smuggling of communication devices, periodic staff rotation and vetting to prevent collusion, and the introduction of structured de-radicalization programs under expert supervision.

Minister of State For Labour & Employment and Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises wrote a letter following some undated videos surfaced on social media purportedly showing Bengaluru Central Jail inmates using mobile phones, watching television and even partying inside the prisons.

"There should also be an institutionalized mechanism for coordination between State Prison Departments and central agencies such as the NIA and Intelligence Bureau for real-time intelligence sharing and monitoring of high-risk inmates. Such a framework will not only strengthen the security of correctional institutions but also reinforce the rule of law and uphold India's commitment to national security" she said.

The recent episodes in Karnataka serve as a serious warning that without immediate corrective measures, prisons may continue to be exploited as safe havens for extremist ideologies and anti-national planning . The Centre should issue a comprehensive national SOP on prison security and de-radicalization, ensuring that such lapses are eliminated and that the integrity of our internal security apparatus remains uncompromised, she said.

"Prisons, which are meant to serve as centers of rehabilitation and reform, have regrettably become breeding grounds for radicalization and ideological indoctrination" she said.

She also said that alarming security lapses in Karnataka's prison required urgent need for a uniform national policy governing prison security and de-radicalization.