The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday targeted the Congress-led Karnataka government over reports that high-risk inmates were enjoying unauthorised privileges inside Bengaluru’s Parappana Agrahara Central Jail, including access to mobile phones, television and what appeared to be a “VVIP lifestyle”.
“This is the difference between the BJP and the Congress. One attacks terrorism, the other allows phones and celebrations for terrorists,” BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said at a press conference in New Delhi, accusing the Congress of having a “soft corner for terrorism”.
Mocking the state government, he said, “The Congress has introduced a new guarantee, turning prisons into party houses.”
Poonawalla presented video clips allegedly recorded inside the Bengaluru central jail, showing inmates using mobile phones. One of them, he claimed, featured Zuhab Hameed Shakeel Manna, said to be an ISIS recruiter, using a mobile phone. “Such terrorists should be isolated in high-security cells. Instead, he is using a phone, contacting the outside world and continuing his recruitment work from inside jail,” he said.
Another clip purportedly showed convicted serial rapist Umesh Reddy using a mobile phone, with a television visible in the background. “He was being served his preferred meals,” Poonawalla alleged. A third video, he claimed, showed inmates “partying” inside the jail with food and alcohol.
The BJP demanded accountability from the Congress government. “Would chief minister Siddaramaiah and home minister G Parameshwara resign after this incident? Such VIP privileges can’t exist without the state government’s knowledge. Will Rahul Gandhi and the Congress leadership take action, or is this a new guarantee: VIP treatment for prisoners?” Poonawalla asked.
Following the controversy, CM Siddaramaiah said that home minister G Parameshwara had convened a meeting to review the issue and promised strong action. “The matter of luxurious facilities being provided to prisoners in Parappana Agrahara has come to the attention of our government. The concerned officials were on leave. The home minister has called a meeting on this tomorrow. Strict action will be taken against those who have erred, and measures will be implemented to ensure such incidents do not recur in the future,” he said on November 9.
Parameshwara, however, claimed that the videos being circulated were old. “Some videos are from 2023, not from yesterday or the day before. A few photos are from three to four months ago,” he said at a press conference in Bengaluru. He added that a high-level committee had been set up to review the prison’s functioning. “The chief superintendent has been transferred, and for the first time, an IPS officer has been appointed to head Parappana Agrahara Prison,” he said.
