Bengaluru
In response to a series of security breaches, the Karnataka government has approved the deployment of 550 ex-servicemen as prison guards to strengthen surveillance and discipline across correctional facilities.
The move follows multiple incidents, including a terror suspect allegedly accessing a mobile phone inside jail and viral videos showing inmates partying within Bengaluru Central Prison. Officials said the decision aims to plug critical gaps in prison security and restore order.
Alok Kumar, Director General of Police (Prisons), has written to the State Ex-Servicemen Welfare Society to initiate the recruitment process. The arrangement, estimated to cost around Rs 20 crore annually, is expected to be temporary until more than 1,200 vacant jail warden posts are filled.
Authorities said the ex-servicemen will be strategically deployed in vulnerable areas, particularly near prison perimeters where contraband such as mobile phones and drugs have reportedly been smuggled by being thrown over compound walls. Investigations into recent breaches revealed that such activities were more common in zones with limited guard presence.
The recruitment will be carried out on a contract basis, with the finance department granting exemption under Rule 4(g) of the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements (KTPP) Act, allowing the process to bypass conventional tendering.
Applicants must be below 45 years of age, meet strict physical fitness standards, and complete a 3 km run within 20 minutes. They must also have a clean record with no criminal background.
Kumar said the selected personnel would undergo specific training before deployment. He added that they would be assigned roles that minimise direct interaction with inmates, focusing instead on surveillance and perimeter security.
Sources indicated that 455 ex-servicemen will be posted across seven central prisons, including about 250 at Parappana Agrahara Central Prison in Bengaluru. The remaining personnel will be deployed across eight district prisons in the state.
The prison department plans to assess the effectiveness of this measure and submit a report to the government, which will determine whether the arrangement should be extended or modified in the future.