Bengaluru, 9 Nov

Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Sunday assured of strict action against jail officials who allegedly allowed "VVIP treatment" of inmates, including ISIS terrorists and rapists, to continue in Bengaluru central jail.

The Home Minister has also called for a meeting of police officials and has sought a report from Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) B Dayanada on the allegations.

"We have appointed B Dayananda as the head (of Prisons). He was on leave yesterday, but I have spoken to him. I have told him that this is happening repeatedly; whoever is responsible for this, immediate action needs to be taken against them, and a report should be submitted. "But I will not tolerate this nonsense. Enough is enough," Parameshwara told reporters here.

Dayananda was appointed as ADGP (Prisons) on 31 July, following the retirement of Director General of Police (Prisons) Malini Krishnamoorthy. Dayananda was earlier the Bengaluru police commissioner and was suspended by the State government after the Bengaluru stampede, which took place during a Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) victory event on 4 June in which 11 people lost their lives and over 50 others sustained injuries.

However, the timeline of the video is not clear, but Parameshwara said that such incidents have happened before.

Multiple officials have been suspended across Karnataka, including in Mangaluru and Belagavi and also in the Central jail too following reports of VVIP treatment given to inmates, he said.

Further, even if the jailers complain of being short-staffed, it is not an excuse to not do one's duty, he added.

"Such things shouldn't happen. Sometimes they say they are short on staff, but that's not an excuse. You should do your work properly. If you're using this as an excuse and giving mobile phones and TVs to them, then it can't be called a jail anymore. I will call a meeting of police officers and will discuss what the lapses are," the State Home Minister added.

According to the Minister, the State government has also approved for the installation of additional CCTV cameras and network jammers. He has further said that if the report is not satisfactory, he will form another committee and take "immediate corrective measures."

"Whether a terrorist or anyone else, they should not have access to a phone or any of these facilities inside a jail. There is no point in calling it a jail if you give them such facilities. A few people are saying the video is old. Be it old or new, such things should never happen. I will try my best to take strict action against this," he said.

A purported viral video showed inmates in Parappanna Agrahara Jail, also known as Bengaluru Central jail, enjoying "VVIP treatment” such as getting unauthorised use of mobile phones, TV and such inside the prison”.