A video clip, purportedly shot at the district jail in Hassan, has gone viral on social media platforms, raising doubts over the officers’ involvement in supplying banned goods to the prison inmates.
In the video clip, a person is seen narrating how he got ganja and other banned items, inside the jail. He introduces himself as Salim Pasha, an inmate for over nine years. Like him, the inmates could procure the banned items at exorbitant rates with the help of officers. He also names a couple of officials in the video. It is said that an inmate recorded the video and shared it with a family member, and later it went viral.
A team of police officers led by Additional SP K.S. Thammaiah conducted a raid on August 18 and seized 18 mobile phones and 20 grams of ganja from the inmates. Based on the materials seized, the police registered five FIRs against 18 people.
Hassan Superintendent of Police Hariram Shankar told the media on Monday (August 21) that the video clip doing rounds on social media, was old, before the raid was conducted. In fact, the police conducted the raid only after they learnt that some inmates were using phones and uploading videos from the prison.
The SP has suspected the role of prison authorities in the illegal activities in the prison. He said that he would submit a report to the Director General of Prisons for suitable action against the officers in Hassan.
