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Rape convict ex-MP Prajwal Revanna found using smartphone, wearing civilian clothes in jail
Rape convict ex-MP Prajwal Revanna found using smartphone, wearing civilian clothes in jail
Bengaluru, Rape convict and former MP Prajwal Revanna was found using a smartphone inside Bengaluru's Parappana Agrahara Central Prison, with a video that surfaced on Wednesday showing him in casual clothes and talking to someone on the phone, even as prison authorities ordered an inquiry into the lapses.
An Android mobile phone was seized from Revanna's barrack during a four-to-five-hour Central Crime Branch search at the prison on Tuesday, Director General of Police Alok Kumar said.
Kumar said the prison authorities had also found that Revanna was not wearing the prescribed prison uniform, describing it as another lapse.
"Another issue is that yesterday he was not wearing the prescribed prison clothes. I had specifically asked about this. We received a complaint about this three months ago, and at that time I issued a memo stating that all convicted prisoners must wear prison clothes as per the prison rules. He did not wear them yesterday either," he said.
The video that surfaced on Wednesday purportedly shows Revanna wearing civilian clothes and speaking on a mobile phone while inside the prison.
The CCB conducted the raid on Tuesday targeting high-profile prisoners and other inmates housed in the High Security Prison. No other contraband was found during the search, Kumar said.
The CCB has lodged a complaint with Parappana Agrahara Police Station and registration of an FIR is in progress, he said.
The Assistant Superintendent, Iranna Rangapur, has been suspended on the report of DIG for alleged dereliction of duty, while a show-cause notice has been issued to the Superintendent of Bengaluru Central Prison.
"We have now entrusted DIG Jinendra Khanagavi with the task of conducting an enquiry into the roles of the jailer and other staff and officers who were there. He will begin the enquiry tomorrow. We have also issued a show-cause notice to the SP, Bengaluru Central Prison, because such things were happening in his vicinity and there were lapses,' Kumar said.
The prison authorities had also searched Revanna's barrack on August 6, but the search team had not found any contraband item at the time, Kumar said.
The DGP said the investigation would focus on how the phone reached Revanna and who facilitated it.
"Now, the CCB will investigate who gave him the phone. That is important. If someone inside the jail has facilitated anything, we will have to take action against that person as well," he said.
Kumar noted that over 300 mobile phones had been seized from Parappana Agrahara in the last seven to eight months, but an older stock of phones recovered over the previous three to four years had yet to be completely cleared.
"This particular phone appears to have reached him sometime earlier. He recently changed the SIM card, but the phone had been with him for some time. A SIM was also used in this phone in March. We have to examine what information is available now and where the phone was before March," he said.
Asked about the phone's use in March, Kumar said, "In March, he was not using it. He was using another one in March. But this phone was inside the jail. It came there in March."
Kumar said the incident was a major embarrassment for the prison department and the government and warned that those responsible would face action.
"We have conducted so many raids and taken action, but an incident like this is embarrassing for our prison and correctional services department. It is also an embarrassment to the government. In our view, this is not acceptable. Whoever is responsible will face strict action. We have already taken action," he said.
He also acknowledged lapses in monitoring high-profile prisoners, saying personnel posted in the area should have been aware of their movements.
"There are definitely lapses. Even on that day, when the search was conducted, someone may have received information in some other manner, which is why the phone was not found. That aspect also needs to be investigated," Kumar said.
Kumar said the CCB had conducted several raids earlier without finding mobile phones, while prison personnel continued to seize phones regularly.
"Our people are finding phones on a daily basis. Even last night, two more mobile phones were found in the high-security block," he said.
The DGP also said the prison's mobile phone jamming system had been facing technical problems, while raising concerns over repeated use of Airtel Andhra Pradesh SIM cards inside the jail.
"The jammer problem has unfortunately become a permanent issue," Kumar said.
The DGP added that the department had been trying for the past seven to eight months to resolve problems arising from the interaction between the old jammers and newer telecom systems.
He said there were still several "black spots" inside the prison where the jamming system was ineffective.
Kumar also said Airtel Andhra Pradesh SIM cards had repeatedly been found being used inside the jail despite warnings to the telecom operator.
"Whenever SIM cards are found inside the jail, they are Airtel Andhra Pradesh SIM cards. Jio does not appear, Vodafone does not appear, BSNL does not appear. It is Airtel, and specifically Airtel Andhra Pradesh SIMs, that keep turning up," he said.
The DGP said the repeated appearance of such SIM cards also needed to be investigated.
Revanna, the grandson of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and son of JD leader H D Revanna, represented Hassan in the Lok Sabha from 2019 to 2024.
He was arrested in May 2024 in connection with sexual assault cases and was later convicted in a rape case. A special court in Bengaluru sentenced him to life imprisonment in August 2025, following which he was lodged in Parappana Agrahara prison.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
