"Enough Is Enough": A Warning After ISIS Recruiter Seen Using Phone In Bengaluru Jail

Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara has warned jail officials of strict action following major security lapses at the Bengaluru Central Jail. Videos surfaced yesterday showing notorious inmates—an ISIS recruiter and a serial rapist-killer—using mobile phones and watching television in jail. Parameshwara said he would "not tolerate this nonsense" and sought a report from Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) B Dayananda.

"I will not tolerate this nonsense. Enough is enough. This kind of incident shouldn't happen. It is said that there are fewer staff. But at least the existing staff should do proper work. That is not an excuse. If they are getting TV and mobile inside, then what is the jail for? We have approved CCTVs and jammers. It has been implemented at few places," said the state minister.

The government appointed Dayananda as the head of prisons on July 31 after the retirement of Director General of Police (Prisons) Malini Krishnamoorthy. He was earlier suspended as the Commissioner of Bengaluru Police after a stampede killed 14 people during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's victory rally on July 4.

"He was on leave yesterday, but I have spoken to him. I have told him that this is happening repeatedly; whoever is responsible for this, immediate action needs to be taken against them, and a report should be submitted," he added.

In the video that surfaced yesterday, Zuhaib Hameed Shakeel Manna, an alleged ISIS recruiter, was seen scrolling on a phone inside the prison. A radio or a television was heard in the background as Manna spoke to someone while enjoying tea. According to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), he raised funds along with our conspirators and radicalised Muslim youth and illegally sent them to Syria via Turkey to join ISIS.

Another video showed Umesh Reddy, named in 18 rape and murder cases, using his two Android phones and a keypad mobile. A television was kept in his barracks. In 2022, his death sentence was commuted to 30 years of imprisonment by the Supreme Court as he sought clemency, claiming to be mentally ill. He was later declared medically sound.

Besides Manna and Reddy, pictures of another inmate, Tarun Raju, showed him using a phone and cooking inside the jail. Raju was arrested in the Ranya Rao gold smuggling case while trying to flee to Geneva and later identified as the mastermind of a smuggling network that allegedly supplied gold in Dubai to the daughter of an IPS officer.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah assured necessary action, and the Prisons Department also opened an inquiry into the videos.

Such incidents have occurred earlier too, claimed Parameshwara, pointing out that several officials across the state, including at the central jail, were suspended following reports of VVIP treatment given to inmates. "Such things shouldn't happen. Sometimes they say they are short on staff, but that's not an excuse. You should do your work properly. If you're using this as an excuse and giving mobile phones and TVs to them, then it can't be called a jail anymore," he said.