Bengaluru: Amid growing concerns over crimes being orchestrated from behind bars, the Karnataka Prison Department has launched a high-intensity statewide crackdown on illegal communication networks inside prisons, recovering a significant number of mobile phones and SIM cards in coordinated raids over the last 36 hours.
Notably, this decisive action comes soon after senior IPS officer Alok Kumar took charge as the Director General of Police (Prisons)—signalling a tougher, zero-tolerance approach to security breaches inside correctional facilities.
Seizures Across Major Prisons
According to official sources, surprise searches were conducted simultaneously in multiple central prisons, leading to the following recoveries:
- Kalaburagi Prison: 10 mobile phones, 4 SIM cards
- Mangaluru Prison: 6 mobile phones
- Ballari Prison: 4 mobile phones
- Shivamogga Prison: 3 mobile phones, 4 SIM cards
The recovered devices are suspected to have been used for illegal communication, coordination of crimes, and digital fraud operations—a concern that has intensified following recent cybercrime cases, including “digital arrest” scams and extortion calls traced back to prison networks.
A Shift After Leadership Change
Senior officials indicate that the crackdown reflects a policy shift under the new DGP (Prisons), with clear instructions issued to sanitize prisons, dismantle internal networks, and fix systemic loopholes that allowed inmates access to mobile phones.
“The operations are part of a continuous, intelligence-driven exercise. There will be no relaxation,” a senior prison official said, adding that accountability of prison staff is also under review.
Larger Context
The raids come at a time when law-enforcement agencies across Karnataka are linking serious cyber frauds, threats, and extortion calls to jailed offenders, raising questions about surveillance failures inside prisons.
Officials confirmed that disciplinary action and criminal proceedings will follow wherever negligence or collusion is detected.
What’s Next
The Prison Department has indicated that:
- Surprise checks will continue
- Signal-jamming systems will be audited
- Staff rotations and monitoring will be strengthened
With Alok Kumar at the helm, prison reforms and security enforcement are expected to intensify, sending a strong message that jails can no longer operate as crime command centres.
ಇದನ್ನೂ ಓದಿ: ಅಲೋಕ್ ಕುಮಾರ್ ಡಿಜಿಪಿಯಾಗಿ ಅಧಿಕಾರ ಸ್ವೀಕರಿಸಿದ ಬಳಿಕ ಜೈಲುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕಠಿಣ ಶುದ್ಧೀಕರಣ: 36 ಗಂಟೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಪ್ರಮುಖ ಜೈಲುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಮೊಬೈಲ್–ಸಿಮ್ ವಶಕ್ಕೆ
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