BENGALURU: Three prison officials have been accused of collecting money from those who come to meet the inmates of Parappana Agrahara central prison. The three warders, Ashok, Mukunda and Ibrahim, have also been accused of misbehaving with women visitors.
A women’s organisation Maheshwari Mahila Sangha has approached the Chief Minister, Home Minister, IG & ADGP Prisons and other agencies in this regard and even furnished photos and videos to substantiate their claim.
The organisation has complained that the visitors have to pay bribe to jail staff if they wish to meet the inmates. “These three warders do not let anyone meet the inmates if they have not paid a bribe.
They charge exorbitant amount from those who get permission for special interview with inmates,” the complaint stated.
“The three warders manage to get deputed at the entry gate so that they can extort money from visitors. Generally, the staff will be deputed at the entrance on a rotation basis.
But these three warders pay money to their superiors and manage to get deputed at the entrance. They also pass on contraband materials such as drugs, liquor and mobile phones to the inmates,” the complaint stated.
The president of Maheshwari Mahila Sangha, S. Meena, said a few people had approached them complaining specifically about the three warders. “We wanted to check whether the allegations were true and thus our members went at the prison.
They had to pay bribe to the warders to visit the inmates. Then we complained about this to the Chief Minister, Home Minister and other officials. We have also given photos and video evidence to prove our allegations. Despite this, no action has been taken against the warders.”
Sources in the prison department, however, said that the three warders were summoned by a senior official following the allegations. “The officer sought an explanation from the warders and then warned them not to indulge in such activities,” a source said.
