High security central prison at Parappana Agrahara on the outskirts of Bengaluru is witnessing one after the other dramatic events confusing the public. After the high voltage open spat between Karnataka Director General of Prisons (DGP) Satyanarayana Rao and DIG D Roopa, both high-ranking IPS officers, the Karnataka Government has shifted 32 convicts from Bengaluru Central Prison to Ballari prison on Sunday adding to the ongoing dramatic events at the prison which is a blot on ruling Congress Government led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
According to jail officials the prisoners were shifted on Sunday afternoon to Ballari and Belagavi jails in Karnataka allegedly for trying to air their grievances, an official said.
It is interesting that the convicts were shifted to other jails within days after DIG (Prisons) D Roopa submitted a report to DGP (Prisons) Sathyanarayana Rao alleging that there were “talks” that `2 crore had exchanged hands to give preferential treatment to AIADMK (Amma) chief VK Sasikala and even said there were allegations against him as well.
However, the DGP Sathyanarayana Rao had rubbished the charges while the State Government on 13 July ordered a high-level probe into the allegations.
An official on the condition anonymity said “As many as 32 convicts jailed in Parapanna Agrahara Prison have been shifted to Bellary and Belgavai prisons. They have been shifted because they tried to air their grievances and level corruption charges against senior jail authorities, including chief jail superintendent.”
According to sources the jail inmates were ‘unhappy’ with the conduct of the prison superintendent and accused him of beating them up for airing their grievances on several occasions in the past.
In another development, DIG Roopa, who visited the jail second time has submitted another report to Home Secretary, Additional Chief Secretaries, Anti-Corruption Bureau chief, the DG and IGP RK Dutta and DG (Prisons) Rao. She has confirmed to the media that she had submitted her second report but refused to divulge the details.
According to Home Ministry sources, DIG Roopa in her second report alleged that a few video footages of her interaction with prison inmates wherein they spoke of critical issues, including corruption involving jail officials, had deliberately been deleted. The report also alleged that a special meeting room had been provided for Sasikala.
Meanwhile, the local television channels are showing a leaked footage of jail inmates playing cards, smoking ganja and a room with facilities to stamp paper kingpin Karim lala Telagi. According to sources in her report DIG has also alleged that a few CCTV cameras near Sasikala’s cell were deliberately kept non-functional.
As the open spat of these high ranking prison officials has become a major embarrassment ahead of Assembly polls, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on 14 July, had slapped a notice on Roopa for going to media with her first report. However Roopa welcomed the probe but questioned the Government why notice was served only to her.
An unfazed Roopa had said she did not divulge the details of the report to media. Roopa said the DGP (Prisons) was the first one to talk about the report and only after that she gave her reaction.
Rao, however, had rubbished Roopa’s charge against him, terming it “absolutely false, baseless and wild.” Stating that no special treatment was being given to Sasikala, he had also said he would take legal recourse against the junior officer.
Sasikala, 59, is in the Parpanna Agrahara Central Jail since February 15 to serve a four-year sentence after she was found guilty and convicted by a trial court in Bengaluru in September 2014 in the two decade-old illegal wealth case of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. Both the Opposition parties BJP and JDs have demanded a probe by the judiciary.