Alarming videos from Bengaluru’s Parappana Agrahara Central Jail have shown inmates enjoying what looks like a party inside the prison. The visuals include prisoners using phones, drinking liquor, eating snacks, and dancing, raising serious questions about security inside one of Karnataka’s biggest jails.

The jail houses several inmates accused or convicted of serious crimes, including an ISIS recruiter and a rape-murder convict. The videos, which are now widely circulating on social media, have led to strong reactions and demands for strict action.

In one of the latest videos, inmates can be seen dancing while liquor is served in disposable glasses along with cut fruits and fried peanuts. Another video shows four liquor bottles placed next to inmates as they laugh and play music using utensils.

These visuals surfaced shortly after the state government had already questioned officials over reports of VVIP-style facilities being allowed inside the central jail.

The videos also show ISIS recruiter Zuhaib Hameed Shakeel Manna scrolling through a phone and drinking tea, with the sound of a radio or TV playing in the background.
 According to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Manna had raised funds, radicalised young people, and sent them to Syria to join ISIS.

Another video shows Umesh Reddy, who is accused of multiple rape and murder cases, using two smartphones and a keypad phone. A television is also visible in his cell. Reddy's death sentence was changed to 30 years in jail by the Supreme Court in 2022.

Photos have also surfaced of Telugu actor Tarun Raju, an accused in a gold smuggling case, using a phone and cooking inside the jail.

Following public anger, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said necessary action would be taken, and the Prisons Department has launched an investigation.

On Sunday, Home Minister G Parameshwara gave a strong warning: “Such things cannot be tolerated. If this continues, it cannot be called a jail anymore. No one, whether a terrorist or anyone else, should have access to a phone.”

Officials said they are checking the authenticity of the videos and identifying the jail staff who may have allowed these activities.

This is not the first time the Parappana Agrahara Jail has made headlines.

In October, a murder accused named Srinivas (also called Gubbachi Seena) was seen celebrating his birthday inside prison with a cake and garlands.


Last year, actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, jailed in the Renukaswamy murder case, was seen holding a cigarette and a coffee mug while talking with inmates.