Home Minister orders probe after videos show inmates using phones, TV in Bengaluru jail
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Sunday said he has taken serious note of alleged irregularities at the Bengaluru Central Prison after videos surfaced on social media purportedly showing inmates watching television and using Android phones inside the jail.
Speaking to reporters here, Parameshwara said he has sought a report from Additional Director General of Police (Prisons) B Dayananda and warned of stringent action against officials if lapses are found.
Prison authorities launched an inquiry on Saturday after the videos went viral, showing several inmates allegedly receiving special privileges, including access to electronic gadgets.
One of the clips purportedly showed Umesh Reddy, a rape convict facing multiple charges of sexual offences, using an Android phone, while a television set was seen installed inside his barrack, sources said.
“I have asked him (ADGP Dayananda) to give me a report. If the report is not satisfactory, I will set up a separate committee and take corrective measures. I will not tolerate this nonsense. Enough is enough, because these things should not happen again,” the minister said.
Parameshwara said he had directed the ADGP to identify and take action against officials responsible for the lapses.
“They (prison officials) often say there is a shortage of staff, but the existing staff should at least perform their duties well. That is not an excuse. If they provide television, mobile phones and other things on the pretext of a lack of staff, then why should it be called a jail?” he remarked.
He said the government had already approved the installation of CCTV cameras and jammers in prisons.
“It has been implemented in some places. I am going to hold a meeting to take it seriously. We had suspended a few officers when such incidents took place in Belagavi and Mangaluru. I told ADGP Dayananda that someone must be held accountable for this. I have asked him to initiate action against the officials involved,” Parameshwara said.
To a question on prisoners having access to mobile phones, he said, “Not just terrorists, phones or any other facilities should not be in anyone’s hand inside the jail. No one will call it a jail then.”
Prison officials said an internal inquiry had been initiated to verify the authenticity of the videos and identify those responsible for facilitating such access.
Meanwhile, another video allegedly from the Bengaluru Central Prison went viral on social media, showing prisoners partying, dancing, and consuming liquor and non-vegetarian food.
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
