Bengaluru: In a meticulously planned raid that drew shock and awe, police raided the high-security wing of Bengaluru’s Central Prison on Saturday and seized the largest amount of smartphones and other illegal goods in recent times, officials said.
The searches were carried out by dozens of police officials and targeted 11 cells, where notorious gangster ‘Wilson Garden’ Naga and his associates have been lodged.
The operation came weeks after allegations of “special treatment” being provided to VIP inmates, including Kannada film star Darshan Thoogudeepa and gangsters like Naga. The controversy left the state government red-faced and resulted in large-scale transfers of prison officials.
The raid yielded 15 mobile phones, including a high-end Samsung device that cost over Rs 1 lakh, three chargers, seven electric stoves, Bluetooth headphones, flash drives, knives, wallets, cigarettes, beedis, and Rs 36,000 in cash, a senior police officer in the know said.
The raid vastly differed from the usual search operations at Karnataka’s largest prison that houses more than 5,000 inmates. The operation was kept so secret that even police inspectors involved in it were informed just 15 minutes before and their mobile phones were taken away, another senior police officer said.
Led by Sarah Fathima, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast), a 40-member police team commenced the raids at 4.30 pm.
The team, also comprising an assistant commissioner of police and two inspectors, entered the prison premises by hoodwinking officials into believing that they had come to investigate the recent incidents of “special treatment” to select prisoners, a police officer who was part of the raid said.
But as the police team reached the entrance to the high-security section, it flashed a search warrant, flummoxing prison officials.
Fathima said they learnt from the previous “failed” prison raids and did their homework.
“We made sure no information about the raid leaked, cut down the time taken for paperwork inside the prison and tweaked some procedures,” she told DH.
Police even took ‘panchas’, independent witnesses, to record the seizures.
Departing from the usual procedure, police escorted all prisoners out before searching their cells. This was to ensure that the prisoners had no time to hide any unauthorised items, according to the DCP.
Highlights - Meticulous op Inspectors involved in the op were informed just 15 minutes before and their phones taken away Op targeted 11 cells, including that of ‘Wilson Garden’ Naga Raid yielded 15 phones, including one that cost over Rs 1L, Bluetooth headphones, chargers.