Woman chief jail superintendent in Karnataka’s Kalaburagi gets threat message
Kalaburagi: The Chief Jail Superintendent of Kalaburagi District Prison, R. Anita, has received a threatening audio message from an anonymous person warning that her car would be blown up with explosives.
According to police reports, the threatening message was sent as an audio recording to a police inspector in Kalaburagi on his mobile phone. The information was subsequently passed on to Anita. In response, her official vehicle has been parked under continuous CCTV monitoring.
Reacting to the incident, Chief Jail Superintendent Anita said on Thursday that the identity of the sender remained unknown. “I have been informed about the development, and we must remain cautious. However, since I have not personally received any threatening messages or calls, I have not lodged a formal complaint,” Anita said.
She further added, “If I receive a threatening call or message on my personal or official phone, I will file a complaint.” The incident has raised concerns among officers and prison staff.
Police sources revealed that they are tracking the origin of the message and have initiated an investigation. It is suspected that the threat is linked to Anita’s recent efforts to curb illegal activities within the prison.
Recently, reports of certain prisoners receiving preferential treatment at Kalaburagi Prison surfaced, prompting an inspection by senior officers, including the ADGP Prisons. Since assuming charge one and a half months ago, Anita has implemented strict measures to halt such practices, including banning the sale of gutka, beedis, and cigarettes inside the prison premises.
These reforms faced resistance from inmates, with undertrials and prisoners staging protests against the new regulations. Despite the opposition, Anita remained firm and refused to relax the measures. She also ended the preferential treatment previously afforded to influential prisoners.
It is suspected that the threatening message may have been orchestrated by disgruntled inmates unhappy with these strict measures.
In a separate development, Anita has been accused of allegedly receiving bribes through PhonePe from a prisoner. The allegation, made by Mustafa’s sister, Aneesa, claims that Anita demanded Rs 25,000 from Mustafa and that Rs 10,000 was transferred to Anita’s account, while Rs 2,000 was sent to the account of her driver, Srikanth.
A copy of the complaint, addressed to the Supreme Court, the Home Ministry, and the Chief Minister’s Secretary, has gone viral on social media.
Anita has denied the allegations, asserting that the accusations are an attempt to blackmail her due to the strict measures implemented in the prison. “They cannot tolerate the reforms. They transferred the money themselves and are now trying to blackmail me. A complaint has already been lodged with the Cyber Crime Police Station,” Anita stated.