3 days ago
Mobile phone surgically removed from stomach of Shivamogga jail inmate
SHIVAMOGGA : A mobile phone was surgically removed from the stomach of a convict at Shivamogga Central Prison, prompting a police investigation into how the prohibited item was smuggled into the facility. The convict has been identified as Dhawlath alias Gundu (30), son of Jabbar Sab. He has been serving a 10-year sentence under the NDPS Act since June 15 last year and has been lodged at Shivamogga Central Prison.
Chief Superintendent Ranganath P lodged a complaint against Dhawlath at Tunga Nagara police station in this regard under section 42 of the Karnataka Prisons (Amendment) Act-2022. At around 8 pm on June 24, Dhawlath approached the prison hospital, claiming he had swallowed a stone. Prison authorities transported him in an ambulance to McGann District Hospital for further treatment. Doctors at the hospital conducted an X-ray but initially found nothing in his stomach.
Later, he was taken to the hospital again on June 26 and underwent a second X-ray, which revealed the presence of a foreign object in his stomach. The hospital recommended surgical removal. After obtaining Dhawlath's written consent, doctors performed surgery and extracted a mobile phone measuring approximately 1 inch in width and 3 inches in length. The phone was identified as a KECHAODA-brand device, without a battery or SIM card.
The phone was handed over to prison authorities in a sealed envelope on July 8. As mobile phones are classified as prohibited items inside the prison, the chief superintendent lodged a complaint seeking a detailed investigation into how the device was brought inside, bypassing prison security.
Ranganath told The New Indian Express that it is unclear when the convict swallowed the phone, whether when he was taken out for hospital visits or other procedural purposes, or if he swallowed it in panic when prison authorities or the police raided the prison for inspection. 'The police will question Dhawlath based on my complaint. The police investigation will reveal the truth of how and when he swallowed the phone,' he said.
