Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge on Thursday rejected allegations that the state government is targeting former MP and convicted offender Prajwal Revanna following the recovery of a mobile phone and pen drive from his prison cell and his subsequent transfer from the VIP cell to a normal barrack.
Prajwal is the grandson of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and son of JD S MLA H.D. Revanna.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Kharge said there was no question of the Government targeting Prajwal, who is serving a life sentence following his conviction in a rape case.
“The Government is targeting no one. Prajwal is a convict. Nothing is personal. The court has convicted Prajwal Revanna and, in that backdrop, he is in jail. When the facts are such, there is no question of targeting him,” Kharge said.
On the alleged lapses in the prison system, Kharge said action would be taken against anyone found responsible, irrespective of their rank or position.
“If there are illegal activities inside the prison, action should be initiated at any cost. The video that has come out in this connection is a little older. The investigation is on to find out who handed over the mobile phone to the cell. The investigation so far has revealed that there was no Wi Fi usage,” he said.
Kharge said no officer found guilty would be protected, irrespective of whether the person was a constable or an IPS officer.
“There is no question of protecting any officer from constable to IPS rank who is guilty. Raids have been conducted with the intention of rectifying lapses in the prison system. Action was initiated after lapses were found during my visit to the prison,” he said.
He also said the investigation would examine whether action should be initiated against DGP (Prisons) Alok Kumar.
“The investigation is on regarding initiating action against DGP Prisons Alok Kumar as well. We will initiate action against anyone guilty, from a constable to anyone,” Kharge reiterated.
Reacting to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s allegation that prisons in Karnataka had been turned into “resorts”, Kharge questioned whether BJP leaders had personally visited the prisons and witnessed the alleged lapses.
“Were the prisons resorts during the tenures of Araga Jnanendra and R. Ashoka under BJP governments? It is not tenable to make false allegations,” he said.
Kharge said some prison officials had already been suspended and directions had been issued to conduct an audit of the digital systems in all prisons across the state.
“The audit will ascertain how the lapse occurred and who was involved,” he said.
(IANS)
