Liquor, meat, beedis, mobile phones ‘available at price’ in Mysuru Central Prison: Report
Mysuru: Even as viral videos from Bengaluru’s Parappana Agrahara Central Prison allegedly exposed inmates freely using mobile phones and enjoying VIP treatment, equally startling revelations have now emerged from the Mysuru Central Prison — located in Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s home district.
Mysuru’s high-security prison has allegedly turned into a comfort zone for select inmates, offering everything from liquor, meat, cigarettes and beedis to mobile phones — all available at a price, The New Indian Express reported on Tuesday.
Far from functioning as a correctional centre, the facility is said to operate like a recreational hub, where every banned item reportedly has a fixed rate and official protection.
According to Pavan Siddaramu, a member of the Jail Visiting Board, documents, videos and testimonies gathered from inside the prison revealed that every item within the prison comes with a fixed rate chart. “While market prices of vegetables for essentials outside fluctuate, inside the jail nothing comes below Rs 150 a kg. Even liquor bottles and non-vegetarian food are ordered every week for those who can afford it,” TNIE quoted him as saying.
He alleged the involvement of a canteen operator and some personnel from the Karnataka State Industrial Security Force (KSISF), claiming they were directly involved in smuggling banned items into the premises.
“This is in blatant violation of the Prison Manual right under the nose of the chief superintendent of the prison. While Mysuru city police conduct “surprise visits” and file “nil” reports, the reality is very different,” he charged.
He further alleged that proper inspections could lead to the seizure of hundreds of SIM cards and mobile phones during each raid, adding that only the city police commissioner must answer how many such raids are conducted every year.
He also pointed out that the current chief superintendent of Mysuru Central Prison was previously posted at Bengaluru’s Parappana Agrahara Jail, which is now at the centre of a nationwide controversy over videos showing inmates using phones and partying behind bars.
“This transfer pattern shows how the same officials continue to control and replicate the same corrupt system across different prisons. The very idea of correctional facilities is being destroyed, and instead, we are creating a parallel mafia network within jails,” Siddaramu alleged.
The revelations come days after videos showing preferential treatment to inmates at Bengaluru Central Prison in Parappana Agrahara went viral. Following a high-level meeting with senior prison and police officials, Home Minister Dr G. Parameshwara on Monday suspended a Superintendent and an Assistant Superintendent, and transferred the Chief Superintendent.
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
