Darshan shifted to Ballari prison, to be under round-the-clock surveillance

Actor Darshan shifted to Ballari prison amid controversy over preferential treatment, strict security measures in place, and limited visitor access.

Jailed actor Darshan was shifted to Ballari district prison on Thursday (August 29) morning. He was shifted from Parappana Agrahara Central Prison Complex in Bengaluru, where the preferential treatment he reportedly got turned controversial, pushing the government to relocate him.

The actor, who has been allotted an undertrial prisoner number 511, has been lodged in the high-security barrack of the Ballari District Prison. He has been lodged in a cell alone and will not be allowed to mingle with other inmates apart from those in the high-security cell. The actor will also be placed under round-the-clock CCTV surveillance, even in the cell.

T.P. Shesha, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Northern Range), Prisons and Correctional Services, has written to the Superintendent of Ballari District Prison, outlining the security measures to be adopted to oversee the actor’s stay in the prison. 

Apart from placing him in a separate cell, prison officials have reportedly installed a  CCTV camera at the cell to monitor him around the clock. A dedicated officer has been appointed to monitor Darshan and his activities and conduct daily checks and surprise checks. It has been mandated that all officers who interact with the actor have to do so only wearing a bodycam.

Prison officials have said that apart from the actor’s blood relatives and his advocates, nobody else would be allowed to meet him, contrary to the practice at Parappana Agrahara Central Prison, where several people from the Kannada film industry met him.

Earlier in the day, the actor was shifted to Ballari prison amidst high security. The police party transporting him started at 4.30 a.m. Thursday morning and reached Ballari prison at 9.55 p.m. They took the Andhra Pradesh route to avoid his fans who had gathered along the usual route through Tumakuru and Chitradurga districts. However, many fans had gathered outside Ballari prison.

Controversy broke out over the actor wearing what many said were sunglasses during his trip to Ballari. While Mr. Shesha is learnt to have written to the Chief of Prisons and Correctional Services Department seeking action against officials who allowed the actor to wear sunglasses, Dr. Shobha Rani, SP, Ballari said that the glasses were photochromatic power glasses and that prisoners were allowed to use health equipment.