Video shows serial rapist Umesh Reddy and gold smuggling accused using phones, TV inside central prison in Bengaluru

After the episode of Kannada actor Darshan allegedly being given privileges inside prison caused embarrassment to the Karnataka police, yet another video has now surfaced.

This time, it shows inmates, including a serial rapist, freely using mobile phones and watching television inside their cells in the central prison.

However, the prison officials are yet to confirm the videos that went viral on social media on Saturday. The time of recording of the video was also not verified.

Among those seen in the video is Umesh Reddy, once known as India’s most notorious serial rapist, who allegedly has access to mobile phones and a television.

Reddy, who terrorised women between 1996 and 2002, was accused of rape and murder of several women and was facing 30-year life term. He later claimed to be mentally unstable in an attempt to escape the gallows. However, a medical examination conducted at the NIMHANS confirmed otherwise.

Following a mercy petition, the Supreme Court in 2022 commuted his death sentence to 30 years of imprisonment without remission. Reddy is now lodged at the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison in Bengaluru and is reportedly nearing the end of his jail term.

Despite being kept with other convicts in the regular cell block, recent videos showing Reddy using two Android smartphones and a keypad phone inside the jail have gone viral.

Another video purportedly shows Tarun Raju, an accused in the gold smuggling case, using a mobile phone and even cooking food within the prison. Another video shows Juhad Hameed Shakeel, a wanted ISIS operative lodged at the prison, purportedly enjoying facilities inside the jail with access to a smartphone.

The allegations have triggered outrage and raised serious concerns about lapses within the State’s central jail system. The local residents have complained that the strong network jammers installed around the prison have disrupted their mobile signal, even as inmates appear to use phones without restriction.

The police officers were not available for comment to verify the veracity of the videos.

Chief Minister Siddarmaiah, when asked about the videos, said he was not aware of them and that he would enquire with the officials.