‘Radicalised’ inmate makes calls with impunity from Hindalga jail

A convict lodged at the high-security Hindalga jail here, reported to have been radicalised by coming in contact with terrorists, is making calls to his contacts via different cellphones, raising suspicions over the role of prison staff.

This comes at a time when residents in Hindalga village on the city’s outskirts and surrounding areas are unable to get cellphone connectivity due to signal jammers installed at the central prison. 

It is suspected that the prison staff are working in connivance with some convicts and helping them to make calls, by switching off the jammers.

The suspect in question is Jayesh Pujari, a life sentence convict in a murder case and a native of Puttur in Dakshina Kannada district.

The prison incharge chief superintendent filed a case against Pujari in this regard with the Belagavi rural police on November 27.

The inspector general (south zone) of the National Investigation Agency, Delhi, had informed the Hindalga prison authorities about calls made by Pujari, who has different aliases, using a particular SIM number via different cellphones.

The calls were reportedly made between September 14, 2021, and November 26, 2025.

Pujari was in the news last year when he made threat calls to the office of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. 

The Nagpur police had taken him into their custody for investigation. He had also raised pro-Pakistan slogans on the court premises here last year. Residents in Hindalga and surrounding areas said prison staff make cellphones available to inmates, for which they were paid huge sums.

“This has been going on for years. When the matter comes to the fore, the phones are hidden in walls and floors. The phones are back in use when the issue dies down. Small-sized phones are made available to inmates by prison staff, while some inmates manage to get the devices themselves,” a resident said.