7 prison staff suspended for preferential treatment to actor Darshan in jail

Bengaluru, Aug 26 (IANS) The Karnataka prisons department has suspended seven staffers, including two jailers for allowing Kannada actor Darshan to smoke a cigarette and drink coffee inside the prison.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Home Minister G Parameshwara made the announcement in this regard on Monday.

The photo of Darshan seated on a chair outside his barrack with a cigarette in one hand and a coffee mug in another, had gone viral on Sunday.

In the photo Darshan’s manager and other two jail inmates can also be seen sitting with him.

The development had stirred a controversy in the state, raising questions on the functioning and rampant corruption in the prisons department.

Home Minister Parameshwara stated that following the incident, DG Prisons Malini Krishnamurthy immediately spoke to the officers concerned in the Bengaluru Central Prison and an enquiry was conducted till 1 A.M.

Following the preliminary investigations, seven officers attached to the Bengaluru Central Prison have been suspended with immediate effect.

The jail superintendent will be transferred as soon as the report is submitted, he added.

If the involvement of senior officers is found, without any hesitation and mercy, action would be initiated against them, he stated.

The DG Prisons reached the Bengaluru Central Prison on Monday morning and the probe is continuing, he stated.

When asked whether Darshan would be shifted to another jail, HM Parameshwara stated that the department will consider the option.

"We will also book another case if needed," he added.

Jailers Sharana Basava Ameenagada, Prabhu S Khandelwal, Assistant Jailer LS Tippe Swamy and Srikanth Talwar, head warden Venkatappa Murthy, warden Basappa Teli and head warden Venkatappa Kattoli and Sampath Kumar Kadapatti have been suspended following the preliminary probe, HM Parameshwara stated.

“This is a lapse and it should not have taken place. As the matter surfaced, the officers concerned were suspended and action has been taken. All prisons are sensitised, jammers and CCTV cameras are there. In spite of all this, the incident had taken place and swift action has been taken to avoid any such incident in the future,” HM Parameshwara stated.

He added that no mercy would be shown to anyone involved in the incident and a probe was also on to find out who took the photo and how did that person get a mobile phone inside prison.

The investigation will reveal everything, HM Parameshwara stated.

Raids were conducted two days ago by the police department in the central jail, however, no mobile phone was seized at that time.

"We will also investigate the matter and look whether the mobiles were hidden or sent out on a tip off. We are checking the CCTV footage of the jail of the last three days," he stated.

When asked whether the government was under any pressure in the Darshan case, HM Parameshwara stated that there was no pressure and no one can dare to approach him.

"We will correct and tighten the system. There is no question of bowing down to any pressure," he reiterated.

He clarified that there was no question of weakening the case and action had been taken as per the law and the department would continue to take action in future as well.

“There is nothing to hide in the case, facts are facts. I will see to it that the incident is not repeated," he stated.

Darshan’s photo showing him enjoying himself in Parappana Agrahara of Bengaluru went viral on social media on Sunday, raising questions about prison authorities giving him preferential treatment.

Darshan is the second accused in the kidnap and murder case of his fan Renukaswamy.

The development has shocked the family of Renukaswamy, a fan brutally killed by Darshan, his partner Pavithra Gowda and 15 others.

The case is in the final stage of submission of a charge sheet and the development is seen as a setback to Darshan who was hoping to apply for bail soon after the submission of the charge sheet by the police.

The gruesome murder of Renukaswamy took place on June 8 in Bengaluru. He was kidnapped from his hometown, Chitradurga, brought to Bengaluru, kept in a shed, and tortured to death.

After the murder, his body was thrown into a canal. The incident came to light after the security personnel of a private apartment building saw the body being dragged by a pack of dogs.

Renukaswamy is survived by aged parents, a pregnant wife and a sister.