Parappanna Agrahara Central Prison stands on the outskirts of Bengaluru, flanked by scattered farmland and intermittent stretches of state highways.

When it opened in 1997, officials described it as a modern correctional facility that would replace the old city jail, built by the British in the late 19th century, and introduce a new era of discipline and rehabilitation. Over the years, however, the prison has been the stage for a social and political farce, a sanctuary for those with influence, a hub of illicit trade and a chronic source of embarrassment for successive state governments.

The prison is witness to a tried-and-tested narrative template of scandal, where problems surface, committees are formed, officers suspended and long reports filed, and then the cycle continues.

The latest nail in the prison administration’s foot stemmed from purported clips circulating on social media that showed high-profile inmates, including Juhad Hameed Shakeel Manna, suspected ISIS recruiter, convicted serial rapist Umesh Reddy, and others allegedly engaging in blatant violations of prison regulations— including the use of mobile phones, watching television inside the cells, and celebrating birthdays and throwing parties heavy on liquor in areas supposed to be under strict supervision.

In 2014, then-Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa was convicted in a disproportionate assets case, and subsequently lodged in Parappana Agrahara. Interestingly enough, the hearing in the case was conducted within the prison premises, and the verdict, which was the first in the history of Independent India to spur the resignation of a sitting chief minister, began a saga of public scrutiny, wherein every detail of Jayalalithaa’s imprisonment and eventual release was dissected in public.

Jayalalithaa (allotted prisoner number 7402) was lodged in the central prison’s VVIP cell number 23. Inside the prison, officials cleared several cells to house her and her co-accused. Corridors were cordoned off and privacy curtains were installed. However, her request for an exclusive cell and extended medical stay was denied, and the authorities insisted that the rules applied uniformly to all inmates.

On February 27, 2018, M Jaishankar, known widely as Psycho Shankar and accused of multiple grisly rapes and murders, allegedly died by suicide inside his cell after an unsuccessful attempt to escape the facility two days earlier.

Nearly five years before that, on September 1, 2013, a night marked by rainfall and an unexpected power cut, Jaishankar climbed out of the prison with extraordinary ease. As per the charge sheet filed after the fact, he scaled two inner walls of fifteen feet and then reached the outer wall of more than thirty feet. The electric fencing had no current due to the blackout. The escape pointed to serious negligence and possibly collusion. Eleven officers were suspended as inquiries began. Meanwhile, Jaishankar was recaptured days later.

Another escape indicated an equally disturbing pattern. In April 2015, convicted murderer S Manjunath allegedly impersonated a visitor, used a rubber stamp on his wrist and walked out of the main gate in civilian clothes. Guards at the entrance allegedly never tried to verify his identity. As with every earlier breach, the response was the same: a flurry of suspensions and another committee tasked with studying what went wrong.

A controversy in 2017 involving V K Sasikala, an aide of Jayalalitha, showed how deeply entrenched privilege had become inside Parappana Agrahara. In July 2017, DIG D Roopa submitted a report alleging that Sasikala received preferential treatment inside the prison. Roopa wrote that senior officers had accepted money to provide special facilities. The allegations prompted the state government to order a fresh inquiry.

The committee led by former IAS officer Vinay Kumar confirmed that Sasikala and her relative Ilavarsi had been allotted five cells for personal use, separated by white curtains that created a private space. The corridor was barricaded. A fridge, an induction stove, a pressure cooker and utensils were found in the rooms. Investigators noted turmeric residue on shelves, indicating that food was being prepared inside the cells.

The committee also discovered that a signal jammer had been turned off, raising the possibility that phones were in use. The report said that records had been falsified to support these arrangements.

The prison returned to public attention in 2024 after photographs surfaced of Kannada actor Darshan purportedly drinking from a mug, smoking and walking with fellow inmates in the prison garden. He had been arrested in connection with the murder of a thirty three year old man. The controversy emerged shortly after the Karnataka high court rejected Darshan’s request for home cooked food and special bedding, and spurred the familiar cycle of enquiry.

Former inmates describe the prison as a place where even basic necessities come at a cost. Extra food, hot water, cigarettes, longer visits and transfers to better barracks are widely understood to be available for a fee. A former inmate said the system had an open rate chart. “The rate chart is an open secret. The staff know it. The inmates know it. The families know it,” he said.

In September, officials encountered the clearest evidence of this network. A warden named Kallappa was stopped at the gate during a routine check. He was arrested on drug peddling charges after Karnataka State Industrial Security Force personnel frisked him and found 100 grams of hashish oil, concealed in a pouch and hidden inside his undergarments, when he was entering the prison Sunday night.

No institution in Karnataka has been subject to as many inquiries as Parappana Agrahara. None of the recommendations have been implemented in full.

In November 2025, the state set up another committee led by Additional Director General of Police R Hitendra. Senior IPS officers Sandeep Patil, Amarnath Reddy and C B Risyhanth were appointed to the panel. “The committee must study conditions across all state prisons and submit a comprehensive report within one month. depending on their involvement, officials will be either dismissed or suspended,” said home minister G Parameshwara.

Across successive inquiries, the prescriptions have barely changed.

Committees have repeatedly called for wider CCTV coverage, independent monitoring of the live feed, body cameras for all staff, strict separation of inmates by category, and an end to the discretionary system that governs who is placed in which barrack

A senior IPS officer who has served on earlier inquiry panels said, “It is a pity to watch the same cycle repeat. We write long reports, we list the same basic fixes, and then everything goes quiet until the next crisis. None of the recommendations are complicated. CCTV coverage, independent monitoring, body cameras, proper segregation, rotation of doctors, night supervision — these are simple, workable steps.”

The struggles inside Parappana Agrahara go beyond celebrity inmates and official inquiries. A social worker who runs an education programme inside the prison said, “Violence is a way of survival here. Weak inmates attach themselves to stronger ones. The poor depend on rich inmates to get basic services. Women in the staff fear night duty. Even medical staff negotiate their safety with influential inmates.”

A former undertrial who spent nine months inside the prison described life as a constant mix of fear and uncertainty. “The food is unbearable. The toilets overflow. The water is dirty,” he said. “But the worst thing is the fear. You can go to sleep and wake up accused of breaking a rule you never knew existed.”

In April 2025, the mother of a 21-year-old inmate named Hameed approached the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission. She alleged that her son had been beaten by seven to eight prison staff members, denied adequate food and extorted for basic amenities.