Bengaluru's Parappana Agrahara Central Prison is again in the limelight with AIADMK general secretary Sasikala Natarajan, VN Sudhakaran and J Ilavarasi set to serve their four-year sentence in Karnataka's largest and most overcrowded jail, located in the south eastern part of the city. The Supreme Court on Tuesday (Feb 14) sentenced Sasikala and two others to jail in the disproportionate assets case.
See photos of Sasikala paying tribute to Jayalalithaa at Chennai's Marina Beach
The Karnataka Police have deployed a troop of Karnataka State Reserve Police and personnel from the City Armed Reserve near the prison while security has been beefed up along Hosur Road and at the check-post close to the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border. There is heavy police deployment between Parappana Agrahara village and Attibele toll gate as well.
The inside of Parappana Agrahara Central Jail: Prison or Hotel ?
The prison, established in 1997 in an isolated location in Parappana Agrahara village, consists of huge perimeter walls spread over 40 acres, barbed-wire fencing with granite blocks housing cells overcrowded with prisoners, who are more than double in number than the prison can handle. It also consists of a library with over 40,000 books and periodicals.
You would be surprised to know that the special-security wings in the jail are named after Bengaluru's famous hotels and also provide comfortable accommodation and other luxurious facilities to guests, who are basically prisoners, in exchange for cash! High-security wings 1, 2 and 3 are unofficially referred to as Windsor Manor, Hotel Taj and Hotel Grand Ashok ,respectively, according to a DNA report, which quoted sources as saying that the construction of the buildings is similar to those of lodges.
High-profile or high-risk prisoners such as VIPs, politicians, notorious criminals, dons, murderers and drug peddlers are lodged in the cells of the special security wings. However, when B S Abbai was in charge as the chief superintendent of prison, such luxuries were not provided to prisoners. Rules of the jail were strictly followed with rigorous work being given to the inmates.
Abbai, who passed away in 2007, was succeeded by MC Vishwanathaiah who introduced the system of renting cells, also known as quarantine cells. These cells were given on a rent of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 per month to prisoners along with facilities, which meant that they were given the freedom to do anything, including using mobile phones and procuring cigarettes and weed, DNA quoted official sources as saying.
These cells were never searched as the prisoners lived in luxury with all kinds of punishment remaining out of bounds for these guests of the 'hotels'. Even after the departure of Vishwanathaiah, prisoners continued to avail these facilities. However, his replacement has done away with the system of renting cells to prisoners but they continue to offer comfort to the inmates.
Meanwhile, the Hindu quoted Karnataka Home Minister KJ George as saying that there was no biometric system in the jail while only six of the 25 CCTV cameras functioning. There are no watch towers in the prison either.
Daily life in Parappana Agrahara Central Jail:
The inmates, outside of their prison cells, usually spend hours playing hulikattu — a game similar to chess consisting of small pebbles being placed on a 'board' carved on the grey floors, a report in the Deccan Herald stated.
Male prisoners are dressed in white coarse cotton shirts and pajamas while women are dressed in sarees. According to Assistant Jail Superintendent PV Anand Reddy, the inmates are provide with basic education and "moral science" classes to prevent them from getting "contaminated." The staff members of the prison also try to inculcate "good" qualities among the inmates besides carrying out normal duties.
The prisoners, who include both convicts and undertrials, work in small makeshift units to earn wages. They manufacture steel and wooden furniture, weave khadi into kurtas and pajamas and do sundry jobs that earn them a meagre amount of Rs 10 or Rs 20 in a day. The inmates are given earning coupons with which they can buy fruits from a Hopcom or other requirements not provided by the jail authorities.
Expansion of the Overcrowded Jail:
The prison houses over 4,000 inmates against its capacity of only 2,000. The authorities also released around 1,000 undertrials and convicts on several grounds, including lack of evidence and good behaviour, to reduce the crowd in the prison. Yet, the numbers are so high that the authorities admitted that there was a lack of staff member in the prison.
There are many prisoners who have been serving for over 14 years but have not been released due to the absence of proper guidelines. The release of prisoners with good conduct and behaviour has also been delayed.
The Karnataka government, therefore, decided to expand the Parappana Agrahara Central Jail by acquiring another 20 acres adjacent to it, the Hindu reported. George said that a committee has been formed to decide on the cost and design and other relevant details of the expansion project.
Instructions were also given to the jail authorities to revoke the fines of inmates who have not been able to pay them and release them so that the number of prisoners were reduced.
