Fresh photos from Bengaluru prison raise questions of special treatment to jailed VIPs

Kannada star Darshan and rowdy 'Kulla' Seena said to have free access to cellphone in jail.

Bengaluru: Amid the raging controversy over a photograph showing jailed Kannada film star Darshan Thoogudeepa receiving "VIP treatment", new images purportedly from inside Bengaluru's Central Prison surfaced on Monday. 

Darshan, an A-lister in the Kannada film industry, has been in judicial custody since June, along  with 16 others, for the murder of his fan from Chitradurga, Renukaswamy. 

One of the photographs, accessed by DH, shows Darshan inside his cell sitting on a bed with another inmate, who appears to be holding a cellphone.

The photograph was leaked a day after another picture widely shared on social media purportedly showed Darshan sitting with jailed history-sheeters J Nagaraj alias ‘Wilson Garden’ Naga and Srinivas alias Kulla Seena and smoking a cigarette, which is prohibited inside the prison premises. Senior officers said the incident occurred on the evening of August 22. 

A well-placed police source told this newspaper that the photograph was taken by an inmate named Kannan Vela, as per the preliminary investigation. Vela, an aide of Naga, was arrested for the murder of N Mahesh, alias Siddapura Mahesh, in August 2023. The source added that Vela sent the photograph to his wife via phone, and it then shared further. However, prison officials are still verifying these claims. 

Meanwhile, a purported video of Darshan interacting with a man now identified as Satya also went viral. In the video, Darshan is seen waving and gesturing to the caller about whether he had eaten. Sources suggest the call was initiated by an inmate named Dharma, who then handed the phone to Darshan.

These incidents have raised eyebrows over the effectiveness of cellphone jammers set up inside the prison. 

A senior police officer told this reporter that investigators were searching for Satya, the son of a former Bengaluru rowdy named Janardhan alias Jani. 

More photographs purportedly from inside the prison were also leaked on Monday, showing Seena celebrating his birthday with a gun-shaped cake. Naga also appears in one of the photos.

A former inmate, previously lodged in a district jail in Karnataka in an attempted murder case, explained how phones are hidden in jail.

"They are wrapped in plastic covers and pushed inside the opening of Indian toilets," he told DH on the condition of anonymity. "The cover will be taken back when needed and kept in the same place."

Past incidents

These incidents have once again highlighted the treatment given to VIPs and high-profile inmates in the prison. 

A controversy erupted in 2017 when V K Sasikala, a close aide of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, was reported to have received special privileges inside the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison, where she was lodged after she being convicted in a disproportionate assets case. 

Similarly, Abdul Karim Telgi, convicted in the counterfeit stamp paper scam, was also reportedly given special treatment inside the Bengaluru prison.