32 convicts moved out of Parappana Agrahara jail

They were allegedly trying to air their grievances, said an official. The convicts were shifted around 1 am to prisons in Bellary and Belagavi, the official added on condition of anonymity. “As many as 32 convicts jailed in the Parappana Agrahara Prison have been shifted to Bellary and Belgavai prisons, because they tried to air their grievances and level corruption charges against senior jail authorities, including chief jail superintendent,” the official said. The official said the jail inmates were desperate to meet Roopa as they think she could solve their problems. They were ‘unhappy’ with the conduct of the prison superintendent and accused him of beating them up for airing their grievances on several occasions in the past, the official said. The superintendent could not be reached for his comments. 

Roopa submits another report 

In yet another development, Roopa has submitted a second report to the state officials. “Yes, I have submitted my second report on Saturday,” she said.  It has been submitted to home secretary, additional chief secretaries, Anti Corruption Bureau chief, the DG and IGP R K Dutta and DGP (Prisons) Rao. She, however, declined to divulge the contents of the report. 

Meanwhile, an official, declining to be named, said Roopa had alleged in the report that a few video footages of her interaction with prison inmates, wherein they spoke of critical issues, including corruption involving jail officials, had deliberately been deleted. The report also alleged that a special meeting room had been provided for Sasikala. 

“There are no CCTVs installed in the special room,” the official said quoting the report. It was also alleged that a few CCTV cameras, near Sasikala’s cell, were deliberately kept non-functional. The state government, on July 14, had served a notice on Roopa for going to media with her first report, which had triggered a major controversy, leaving Chief Minister Siddaramaiah red-faced. Lamenting Roopa’s conduct, Siddaramaiah had said it was “absolutely against the rule book and inappropriate on her part to share details with the media.” 

An unfazed Roopa had said she did not divulge the details of the report to media. Roopa said the DGP (Prisons) was the first one to talk about the report and only after that she gave her reaction. Rao, however, had rubbished Roopa’s charge against him, terming it “absolutely false, baseless  and wild.”