‘Jails became recreation club for terrorists’: BJP’s sharp jibe at Karnataka govt amid ‘VVIP treatment’ row

Days after a few purported videos surfaced showing inmates of Bengaluru’s Parappanna Agrahara Jail receiving “VVIP treatment”, Home Minister G. Parameshwara has convened a meeting of senior officials to review the situation.

The minister also promised strict action against those involved.

The videos that have gone viral on social platforms showed a person supplying liquor, drugs and mobile phones to the inmates of Parappanna Agrahara Central Jail, also known as Bengaluru Central Jail, sparking a massive outrage.

The media has reported illegal activities in the jails in the state. We have taken it very seriously. Government will not tolerate it at any cost,” Parameshwara said.

“All the officers concerned and the head of the prisons are responsible. After making them in charge of the prisons, it is their duty to manage them properly.”

The minister further noted that a few officers have been suspended and an FIR has been filed against them in connection with the incident.

According to reports, those seen in the video included Umesh Reddy, a serial killer on death row, and Tarun Raj, who was convicted in a gold smuggling case.

An ISIS operative brought from Dubai by the National Security Agency (NSA) was also seen in the video, an ANI report claimed.

The incident has also led to a political firestorm in the state, with the BJP alleging that the Congress government has no control over law and order.

"The rapists, smugglers, and extremists in Parappana Agrahara prison are throwing all jail rules to the wind and enjoying unlimited fun with TV, mobile, internet, item songs, and more,” said Opposition leader R. Ashoka.

BJP state president B.Y. Vijayendra, too, hit out at the government and accused senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of enabling terrorists inside the jail to create unrest across the nation.

“Not only do Radical elements and ISIS operatives enjoy a free hand outside, but even the Prisons in Karnataka have been turned into Government-sponsored Recreation Clubs for terrorists!,” he said.

“Rahul Gandhi, who frequently travels abroad and seeks external interference in India’s internal matters - is he now enabling these terrorists and using their networks to create unrest across the nation and destabilise our democracy for artificial regime change with the help of the same foreign forces?,” the BJP leader further asked.