A series of videos circulating on social media has sparked widespread outrage after showing hardened criminals inside Bengaluru’s high-security Parappana Agrahara Central Jail using mobile phones, watching television, and enjoying special privileges.

The leaked footage, reportedly from 2023 and 2025, shows notorious inmates, including ISIS recruiter Zuhaib Hameed Shakeel Manna, serial rapist and killer Umesh Reddy, and gold smuggling accused Tarun Raju using phones and relaxing inside the prison barracks.

In one video, Zuhaib Manna can be seen scrolling on his phone while chatting and sipping tea, with a TV or radio playing in the background. According to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Manna had earlier radicalised youth and sent them to join ISIS in Syria.

Terror suspects, smugglers, and rapists getting royal treatment in Bengaluru jail….. What kind of justice system is this?

Once again, shocking visuals have emerged from Parappana Agrahara Central Jail in Bengaluru, raising serious questions about the state of our prison… pic.twitter.com/5D4PfA73Gz

— Karnataka Portfolio (@karnatakaportf) November 8, 2025

Another clip shows Umesh Reddy, accused in over 18 rape and murder cases, using multiple mobile phones inside the jail, allegedly with staff knowledge. Reddy’s death sentence was commuted to 30 years’ imprisonment without remission by the Supreme Court in 2022.

Photos also show gold smuggling accused Tarun Raju using a mobile and cooking inside his barracks. Raju was arrested in connection with the Ranya Rao gold smuggling case, where he was identified as the key mastermind.

Undated videos have surfaced showing jail inmates using mobile phones and watching TV inside #Bengaluru’s #ParappanaAgrahara Central Jail. pic.twitter.com/pFZK4rMR6l

— Hate Detector 🔍 (@HateDetectors) November 8, 2025

Following public outrage, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has ordered a detailed probe into the security lapses. The Prisons Department has launched an inquiry, and ADGP (Prisons) PV Anand Reddy visited the jail for an on-site inspection.

Preliminary investigations suggest that several prison officials may have been aware of the inmates’ access to phones. Authorities are now probing how the devices entered the high-security facility and who leaked the videos to the media.

The Chief Superintendent of the jail has been asked to file complaints at the Parappana Agrahara Police Station, while the Deputy Inspector General of Prisons (South Zone) will conduct a departmental inquiry and submit a report.