Shivamogga jail inmates throw stones at staff, issue death threats after curbs on cigarettes

SHIVAMOGGA: Inmates of the central prison here allegedly threw stones at the prison staff and even issued death threats after being denied beedis and cigarettes. Following the incident, the jail superintendent has been transferred and the DIG-Prisons is camping in the jail for the last two days.

After the picture of actor Darshan sipping tea and smoking a cigarette while inside Parappana Agrahara jail in Bengaluru went viral, the Shivamogga jail authorities had tightened security and supply of beedis and cigarettes had been completely stopped. Angered by this, some of the prisoners had even staged a protest. On September 12, some of the inmates even threw stones at the jail staf, snatched their lathis and threatened them of life.

Following this, jail superintendent Dr R Anitha had lodged a complaint with the Tunga Nagar police station naming 21 jail inmates including Rajashekar Reddy, Noorullah, Tipu, Abhishek Palan, Twist Imran and Riyaz. DIG-Prisons K C Divyashree visited the Shivamogga central jail following the incident and has been camping there for the last two days.

Meanwhile, Dr Anitha has been transferred and Dr Ranganath has been posted in her place. Dr Ranganath, during his earlier stint in Shivamogga, had come up with various programmes for reforming the jail inmates and for their improvement.