Mysuru: Even as the State Prisons Department is trying its best to prevent the use of mobile phones and drugs inside jails, cell phones, ganja packets have found an easy way into the Mysuru Central Prison. Over 135 grams of ganja (marijuana), four mobile phones and three SIM cards have been seized from a barrack inside the jail. Shockingly, preliminary investigations conducted by Mandi Police Inspector Ansar Ali on mobile and drug use inside the barracks point out that some of the prison staff were involved in smuggling drugs and gadgets inside. A couple of prisoners are being grilled now on how they managed to smuggle drugs and gadgets inside the high-security prison. CCTV visuals are being examined to collect evidence. The news of seizure comes at a time when the Prisons Department is facing a series of allegations of allowing banned substance into the State jails and also permitting VIP treatment to special category prisoners after accepting crores of rupees as bribe. Who can forget the revelations made by Deputy Inspector General of Police Roopa Moudgil (now honoured with President’s Medal) who took on the mighty and powerful with her startling revelations on how jailed AIADMK leader V.K. Sasikala was given VVIP treatment inside the Bengaluru Central Jail? It all started on Wednesday (Dec. 8) when Basavaraju alias Basava, a prisoner at Mysuru Jail, made a threat call to a businessman and resident of Mandya, demanding Rs. 20 lakh. He used a smuggled phone to call from the confines of his cell. The businessman immediately lodged a complaint with the Mandya Police. Tracing the call, Dy.SP Chandrashekar found out that the call originated from the Mysuru Central Jail. He informed the Mysuru Jail Chief Superintendent P.V. Anandareddy who raided the barracks. He was surprised when they found 135 grams of ganja (marijuana), four mobile phones and three SIM cards from the barrack that was occupied by inmates Basavaraju, Prakash and Kumar. What shocked the jail officers was that the prisoners had kept ganja leaves in over 30 small sachets. All the sachets were hidden under the beds. Initially, the jail officers were perplexed when they found mobile handsets without the SIM card. Intense search revealed that three SIM cards were hidden inside matchboxes in such a way that it could not be detected.
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