Belagavi: Amid growing concerns over illegal activities inside Hindalaga Central Jail, an unidentified miscreant was caught on CCTV footage throwing mobile phones and suspected narcotics into the prison premises from outside in the early hours of Dec 29.According to prison officials, the masked individual arrived near the outer wall around 3am, hurled cloth-wrapped packets into the jail compound, and fled the scene. A complaint was lodged by the assistant superintendent of the jail at the Belagavi Rural police station. As per the complaint, a mobile phone was later recovered from Barrack No 2 in Circle No 2 while the chief inspector was on duty.Sources said the miscreants threw 2 packets into the jail premises before fleeing. One packet allegedly contained 5 mobile phones and 4 Sim cards, while the other was suspected to contain drugs. However, jail authorities did not officially confirm the exact contents recovered from inside the prison.The incident once again raised serious questions over security arrangements at the high-security prison, particularly along its outer perimeter. The CCTV footage of the act, which went viral on social media, prompted City Police Commissioner Bhushan Borase to visit the jail and review the situation.Addressing the media, commissioner Borase declined to disclose the number of mobile phones or drugs recovered following the incident and also refrained from commenting on the alleged security lapses. He clarified that Hindalaga Jail falls under the jurisdiction of the Belagavi Rural police. “Patrolling is being carried out by the rural police, in addition to security provided by the Industrial Security Force. We will extend whatever security support is possible from our side,” he said.Based on the complaint and CCTV footage, the Belagavi Rural police launched an investigation to identify and nab those involved. The latest incident came just days after a surprise raid on Dec 25, during which police confiscated several mobile phones from inside Hindalaga Central Jail, further highlighting persistent security challenges at the facility. Box – Response by Prison Department Responding to a viral video showing an unidentified miscreant allegedly throwing mobile phones and drugs into Hindalaga Central Jail, TP Shesha, deputy inspector general of prisons (north division), clarified that the CCTV footage was around a month old and not from a recent incident.He said a case had already been registered at the Belagavi Rural police station in connection with the incident and that an investigation is currently under way.
