TV footage of convicted murderers strolling the streets of Bangalore.
Life in the Bangalore Central Jail is nothing short of holiday for four inmates. Dressed in white and roaming the streets of the city, they can easily be mistaken for the average Bangalorean. Their demeanor gives nothing away about their real identity. The fact is, all of them are convicts, sentenced to serving life behind bars. Each one of them has committed murder. One of them, BPL Ravi, had killed two people.
These hardcore criminals are supposed to spend 10 years of rigorous imprisonment inside the high security Bangalore Central Jail. But there is nothing rigorous about their daily routine.
Every morning, they leave the high security prison to roam the streets of Bangalore. Without prison tags or accompanying policemen, they shop at stores and even have a bicycle at their disposal to carry their goods. Tired of jail food, the convicts regularly eat out at restaurants and bakeries.
Strolling around town in broad-day light, these convicted criminals ran into a policeman. Instead of taking them into custody, the policeman had an animated chat with the convicts and left. Tired of walking around, the jail birds sometimes hitch a ride on an auto.
Their day out ends at dusk when they return to their abode, Bangalore's Central Jail, where they share their spoils of the day with fellow inmates, for a price of course.
Outrage
TV footage of convicted murderers strolling the streets of Bangalore, without a care in the world, have outraged citizens and politicians had a stick to beat the state government with.
Former Karnataka chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said, "It is shameful. I demand the government to look into such activities and bring back the brand name of Bangalore as a peaceful city."
While the sight of dangerous criminals walking around in broad daylight has left the Bangaloreans terrified, the issue has thrown up serious law and order questions for the city's police.
Additional Director General of Police, Prisons, K. Srinivasan, said, "I am going to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter and if any lapses are seen on part of the jail staff, I'm going to take strictest action."
But "strictest action", according to Karnataka Home minister R. Ashok, sounds strangely mild. "We will suspend the officers who are involved in the case. The convicts coming out of jail is illegal. It's a very serious offence. The department will take serious action," says Ashok.
The question is who bent the rules for these hard core criminals? Is there a larger scam going on in the Bangalore Central Jail? The answers will emerge after a high-level probe report is submitted.
Lawlessness
Bangalore Central Jail houses some very high-profile criminals and more than 15 terror suspects and yet several cases of lawlessness have been reported from here. This shows visitors are not frisked while prison staffers are working in tandem with the prisoners and for many years now. The question is if authorities take notice and act.
Only last month inmates of the jail were allegedly caught making phone calls to Pakistan. As is usual, a probe was ordered. But that has not had much effect on the prison officials. They continue to give the inmates a free run.
In January last year, a woman jail warden was arrested after she was caught smuggling 69 packets of marijuana into the jail. According to the Public Accounts Committee, 119 mobile phones were found in possession of jail inmates in 2007. Within one year, the number rose to 747.
There has been a definite spurt in the amount of narcotic substances, such as marijuana, found in prison cells. Six hundred and twenty packets were seized in 2007, while 1,317 narcotics packets were found in the cells in 2008.
Questions
Sources say that these daily outings have been going on for a year. Could it have been possible without the knowledge of senior jail and police officials? Why were these so-called VIP inmates given special privileges inside the jail? Is ordering suspension of some officials punishment enough?
Former Karnataka DGP H.T. Sangliana has called the incident "very shameful". "If the murder convicts go out, shop and roam freely, does it make any difference to their lives?
There must be a serious action. It's a leadership failure," Sangliana told Headlines Today.
He demanded that all top jail officials be sacked.
