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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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".
