SHRC report confirms my report on preferential treatment: Roopa
Bengaluru: Former DIG D Roopa today said the State Human Rights Commission’s report on “preferential treatment” to influential prisoners and torture of some inmates at the Parappana Agrahara central jail here by prison authorities, corroborated her probe report.
Roopa had created ripples with her internal report alleging preferential treatment to AIADMK leader V K Sasikala at the jail. The report had sought a probe into allegations that Rs 2 crore was paid as bribe by Sasikala for preferential treatment in prison.
“The SHRC’s report is in my favour as it corroborates my probe report submitted to my senior officials. The commission report states that some prison officials had given preferential treatment to politically-connected prisoners, and tortured prisoners who protested my transfer from the prisons department,” she told PTI here.
The former deputy inspector general (prisons) had submitted the report to then DGP (prisons) Sathyanarayana Rao. Roopa had also levelled charges against Rao.
Rao has retired since then, while Roopa was transferred to another post.
Days after Roopa submitted her report, some prisoners were reportedly shifted to different prisons across Karnataka, including Ballari and Belagavi.
“I had been to the prison on July 15 as part of my duty. Some prisoners aired grievances against some senior officials. After I left, I came to know that they were beaten up mercilessly,” Roopa said.
“On July 16, around 1 am, as many as 32 prisoners, who were vocal, were shifted to other jails, without even informing me. This itself raises questions about the intention of prison officials. What was the need for shifting them hurriedly?” she asked.
“They were beaten up because of the gravity of the matter. If they would have aired small issues, they would not have been beaten up,” she said.
Roopa also said the pictures and video footage of limping prisoners, which was captured when they were taken inside different prisons across the state, establishes the proof of inhuman treatment meted out to them.
“The video footage and pictures of prisoners limping and taken on wheelchairs, taken by a few waiting journalists at different prisons across the state, also establishes the proof of torture, which I had reported to my seniors,” she said.
In his recent 72-page report, IGP (SHRC) Soumendu Mukherjee submitted that inmates were tortured and beaten up for exposing some prison authorities giving preferential treatment to politically-connected prisoners at the Parappana Agrahara Central Jail.
Asked about the status of investigation into the prison violations, Roopa said she was not aware of it.