49 undertrials booked for using mobile phones in Ramanagara jail

They were stashed away at CCTV room, behind pictures of deities, electric junction boxes.

Praveen Kumar | NT

Bengaluru: A surprise check at Ramanagara jail revealed that mobile phones, SIM cards and cash were stashed away at the most unlikely places.

They were found in the CCTV monitor room (where prisoners have no access), electric junction boxes, television stands, behind pictures of deities hung on the walls, hot boxes used to keep cooked food in the jail kitchen, dust bins, luggage rooms. The surprise check at the Ramanagara district prisons was conducted on two different days and cases have been registered against 49 undertrial prisoners lodged at the jail.

They are being questioned to ascertain the calls made by them using the seized SIM cards. Investigations are also on to find out whether there were any lapses on part of the prison authorities.

The raids were conducted in the second and third week of this month. The first surprise checks were carried out from 10.55 pm to 12.40 am and the second raid was conducted from 7 am to 10 am. The raids were conducted following directions from the Prison department’s Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) who functions in the city on Seshadri Road opposite the old central prisons of Bengaluru.

Ramanagara district jail superintendent M.H. Ashekhan has filed a complaint against the 49 undertrial prisoners with the jurisdictional police. The jail officials attached to the Ramanagara district prisons started checking the barracks, kitchen, cells, power room, library, CCTV control room and the entrance of the prisons.

“Surprisingly mobile phones and some cash was found in the CCTV control room which does not have access to any of the prisoners other than the jail officials. Some prisoner who wanted to play it safe after making calls from the seized mobile phone was safely keeping it in the CCTV room assuming that it would not come to anybody’s notice. Later internal investigations revealed that two prisoners identified as Suresh Narasimaiah who is lodged in barrack number 1 and Puneeth Kapani Gowda from cell number 5 were the ones behind it,” said an officer on part of investigations.

The electric junction boxes were also used to hide the mobile phones and SIM cards. The jail officials are checking whose names the SIM cards have been purchased.

Call details of all the SIM cards are being taken to ascertain since when the cards were active and to whom the calls were made. Each prisoner is being individually questioned and a detailed report will be sent to the higher officers of the Prisons Department in Bengaluru.