Bengaluru, Aug 29 (IANS): Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara on Thursday said that they hoped that there will be no lapses in the Ballari prison concerning actor Darshan, who was shifted there from the Bengaluru jail after controversy as photos and videos showing him being accorded luxury treatment there surfaced on social media.
The jailed actor, an accused in a kidnap and murder case, was shifted to the Ballari jail on Thursday. In the wake of the revelations about the luxuries he was enjoying behind bars, several staffers at the Bengaluru Central Jail were suspended and three FIRs were lodged.
Asked whether Ballari jail authorities have been given instructions to be strict and watchful about Darshan, the Home Minister said: "The prison authorities will take action in this regard and it is their job. It is not the government’s job. We will give instructions generally to take care of all this. But, all the nitty-gritty, they will decide."
"They will have to take responsibility and take care of the matter, he added. When reporters asked him if there would hopefully be no lapses in Ballari, Parameshwara said: "Yes. That is what we are hoping for."
On the shifting of Darshan to Ballari jail, he claimed that he did not know about the matter and that the authorities had taken the decision.
"The jail authorities had decided to shift him to a different prison following the developments. They have decided on shifting 8 to 10 persons to different jails and they are doing it at their discretion. I don’t know whether all of them have been shifted," he said.
A Bengaluru court had on Tuesday allowed the prison authorities to shift Darshan to Ballari Jail on the submission of the Bengaluru Jail's Chief Superintendent in the wake of a photograph of Darshan hanging out with three inmates on the lawns of the jail emerging on social media on Sunday. Bengaluru Police Commissioner B. Dayananda on Tuesday said that the city police had sought permission to shift Darshan and other accused to other prisons in the state from the court.
Asked if there was any specific reason for shifting Darshan to Ballari jail, the Minister said: "No specific reason is there. The decision is taken in the view of security matters and prison authorities have decided on it, we have not interfered in the decision."
To a query if Darshan was sent to Ballari jail as Housing Minister B.Z. Zameer Ahmad Khan, who is the minister in charge of the Ballari district, is close to the actor, he said that there is no connection.
"There is a minister in charge for every district. It does not matter who is there, the action will be initiated as per the law," Parameshwara said.
Darshan's partner and prime accused in the kidnap and murder case Pavithra Gowda will remain in the Bengaluru Central Prison.
The other associates of Darshan in the case, Pavan, Raghavendra and Nandeesh were slated to be shifted to Mysuru prison, Jagadish and Laxmana to Shivamogga jail, Dhanraj to Dharwad jail, Vinay to Vijayapura jail, Nagaraj to Kalaburagi jail, and Pradoosh to Belagavi jail. Anukumar and Deepak will remain in the Bengaluru Central Prison.
Four accused, Ravi, Karthik, Nikhil, and Keshava Murthy, were shifted to Tumakuru prison earlier.