Security Breach at Bengaluru Central Jail: 3 Cops Suspended After Viral Inmate Videos

Three prison warders were suspended on Monday, March 30, 2026, after viral videos surfaced showing inmates using mobile phones and streaming content inside the high-security Bengaluru Central Prison in Parappana Agrahara. The disciplinary action, ordered by Director General of Police (Prisons) Alok Kumar, followed the leak of several video clips where undertrial prisoners were seen mocking the prison administration and discussing the recent RCB vs SRH cricket match. The suspended officials; identified as Niranjan Kamath, Hanumantappa Hadpad, and Shivanand Karlabatti, were penalized for neglect of duty. A supervisory jailer too faces administrative action for the security breach that reportedly occurred on the night of March 27.
The scandal unfolded after a news portal released the footage, prompting a surprise inspection by Chief Superintendent Anshu Kumar and his team. During the raid, authorities recovered three mobile phones hidden three feet deep inside a toilet pipeline, wrapped in milk packets to evade metal detectors. An internal investigation suggested that inmates, including murder suspect Abhi and prisoner Zypsin Daniel, likely orchestrated the videos as a “smear campaign.” Authorities believe the stunt was a calculated attempt to derail recent reforms, such as a new system that assigns barracks alphabetically. After discovering active cell signals inside the facility, prison officials filed a formal police complaint against five inmates. They also issued a sharp warning to telecom providers, demanding they close the communication loopholes that allow mobile use within the prison walls.