Belagavi: Senior IPS officer Alok Kumar, who is serving as Inspector General of Police (Northern Range) in Belagavi, received a threatening phone call.
Shockingly, the call was made by an inmate of Hindalga central prison. He threatened the IGP of dire consequences and also warned that he would soon teach him a fitting lesson.
According to the police, the IGP received threatening phone call on his mobile phone on April 21. The caller warned IGP that he was an expert in using AK-56 rifle.
Although the IGP lodged a complaint with APMC police station, Belagavi against the unidentified caller on April 21, the incident came to light on Thursday.
During their investigation, the officers were able to find that the caller hailed from Mangaluru, as the SIM card was sold to him from a shop there.
However, only on Thursday the police got to know that the caller was actually an inmate from Hindalga prison, identified as Shehjahan. He is facing a life sentence for murder.
He is a resident of Mangaluru and has been lodged in Hindalga after being convicted by a local court in Mangaluru.
A team of top police officials visited Hindalga prison to take Shehjajhan into custody. Accordiing to Ramesh Hanapur, CPI, APMC police station, the inmate also sent a threatening text message to IGP soon after disconnecting the call.
The incident has exposed the irregularities taking place in Hindalga prison, which houses a large number of notorious criminals.
Mobile phones, SIM cards, liquor bottles and other objects have been seized from inmates at Hindalga during the raids conducted by the police in the recent years.
With the connivance of jail staff, many inmates are able to buy and use mobile phones inside the prison.
Many of inmates are in touch with their relatives and gang members from inside the prison through mobile phones.
A few years ago Yusuf Bachkana, a sharpshooter of underworld don Chota Rajan, had made a ransom call from inside Hindalga jail to a builder in Mumbai.
Bachkana, according to sources, had kept several SIM cards and phones with him with the help of jail staff during his stay inside.
The builder was attacked by Bachkana's gang in Mumbai when he failed to pay up, following which the Mumbai police traced the phone call to Hindalga prison. Bachkana was then picked up by Mumbai police from Hindalga.
