Bengaluru jail scandal: Terror suspects, serial killer, and actor caught using phones

Viral videos from Bengaluru’s Parappana Agrahara jail show notorious inmates — including serial killer Umesh Reddy, a gold smuggling accused, and terror suspects — using mobile phones and enjoying luxuries. CM Siddaramaiah has assured action amid growing outrage over systemic lapse

Bengaluru: Allegations of major security lapses and preferential treatment within the Parappana Agrahara Central Jail in Bengaluru have surfaced following the viral videos purportedly showing notorious inmates — including one of India’s most notorious rapist and serial killers, Umesh Reddy, suspected terrorists, and a gold smuggling accused — using mobile phones and enjoying unwarranted luxuries, causing significant embarrassment to prison authorities.

Responding to the incident, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said in Bengaluru on Saturday that he was unaware of the development but assured of “looking into the matter” and will initiate necessary action. The series of videos immediately raised serious questions about systemic corruption and adherence to prison manual protocols within the high-security jail.

---

The purported footage allegedly shows Umesh Reddy, who was convicted for raping 20 women and murdering 18 women between 1996 and 2022, freely using two Android phones and one keypad mobile inside the jail. Reddy’s death sentence was commuted by the Supreme Court to 30 years of imprisonment without remission in 2022.

He was initially sentenced to death but later sought clemency, claiming to be mentally ill. However, medical examinations at NIMHANS Hospital confirmed that he was mentally sound. Sources also claim that Telugu actor Tarun Raju, arrested in connection with the Ranya Rao gold smuggling case, is leading a “bindaas lifestyle,” with access to a mobile phone and television in his cell.

Questions are now being raised over how such privileges were allowed without the knowledge or consent of prison authorities. “Is this a jail or a luxury lodge?” a senior police source questioned, alluding to the scale of the alleged privileges.

Tarun, a close aide of Ranya Rao, was reportedly arrested while trying to flee to Geneva. He had earlier played the lead role in the 2018 Telugu film Parichayam and had also acted in Tamil films. Investigating agencies have identified him as the mastermind of a gold smuggling network that allegedly supplied gold to Ranya Rao in Dubai.

Ranya Rao, the daughter of a senior IPS officer, is accused of using her family’s influence and access to a police security vehicle to aid the illegal operations. Even more alarming are claims that the videos also show suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba and other foreign and domestic extremist outfit members using smartphones for communication within the central prison, an incident that poses a national security threat.

This latest controversy follows earlier Supreme Court strictures to ensure inmates do not receive luxury facilities, a directive issued while looking into the fan murder case involving Kannada superstar Darshan.