Prisoner swallows mobile phone in Shivamogga, ends up in hospital

Shivamogga: A prisoner at the central jail near Sogane, Shivamogga, ended up in hospital and had to be operated upon after swallowing a mobile phone, prompting prison authorities to launch a probe into the matter. 

A team of doctors at the District McGann General Teaching hospital in Shivamogga found a mobile phone measuring one inch wide and three inches long in the stomach of prisoner Daulat Khan alias Gunda (30). He had been serving 10 years imprisonment for the past 18 months after being convicted in a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.

Speaking to DH, Shivamogga Central Prison Jail Superintendent P Ranganath said Khan had approached the prison hospital on June 24 claiming that he had swallowed a small stone by chance and it had to be removed. He was given some tablets.

But when his stomach pain worsened, he was referred to the district general hospital in Shivamogga for further treatment. A scan revealed that prisoner Khan had an object in his stomach, which turned out to be a mobile phone. The device was removed during a surgery on June 27.

According to officials, Khan said he might have swallowed it during the inspection fearing that he might be caught. But officials also pointed out that he keeps changing his statements. 

After receiving the necessary documents from doctors earlier this week, a complaint has been lodged at the Tunganagar police station seeking an investigation into the entry of a mobile phone into the jail despite a ban. Two years ago, a mobile phone was found in the stomach of a central jail inmate who too was brought to the same hospital with stomach pain.