A Bengaluru judicial court on Tuesday remanded former Member of Parliament Prajwal Revanna and his cellmate to two days of police custody following an investigation into the recovery of a smartphone and digital accessories from his high-security cell inside Parappana Agrahara Central Prison. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Sandeep Patil, sitting at the 42nd Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court, passed the remand order after local law enforcement obtained a body warrant to interrogate Revanna outside the facility.
Revanna, who represented the Hassan parliamentary constituency from 2019 to 2023, is currently serving a life sentence following his conviction in a rape case in August 2025. The new criminal proceedings center on alleged security breaches within the penitentiary after central investigators uncovered contraband, including a password-protected 5G smartphone equipped with social media and video streaming platforms, inside his first-floor cell.
Seizure of Digital Devices in Barrack Raid
The case stems from a surprise inspection conducted by the Central Crime Branch on August 11, 2026, targeting high-security barracks within Parappana Agrahara Central Prison. During the operation, officers recovered a Redmi 5G smartphone, a blue packet notebook, a battery charger, and a SanDisk pen drive from the cell shared by Revanna and his cellmate Prathap Rai. Investigators noted that Revanna was wearing civilian clothing inside the cell rather than the standard regulation uniform prescribed for convicted prisoners.
A subsequent technical analysis revealed that the seized smartphone contained multiple installed applications, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video, along with several stored video files. The device, which was locked with password protection, was formally submitted to the Forensic Science Laboratory for detailed digital examination. Investigators traced the active SIM card inside the smartphone to an origin in neighboring Andhra Pradesh.
Allegations of Smuggling and Institutional Involvement
Prosecution filings indicate that the recovered phone was actively used to communicate with Revanna's family members, acquaintances, and legal counsel. In initial questioning, Rai was listed as accused number one and allegedly admitted ownership of the smartphone, charger, and pen drive. Revanna, listed as accused number two in the police complaint, claimed ownership of the notebook, which contained handwritten phone numbers belonging to his relatives, associates, and defence lawyers.
The scope of the investigation extends beyond the inmate population. Bengaluru police have formally named several unnamed prison officials and staff personnel as accused co-conspirators in the case. Law enforcement authorities suspect that facility personnel facilitated the illegal entry of contraband into the high-security block, prompting a broader inquiry into institutional corruption and protocol failures at the central jail.
Legal Arguments Over Custodial Interrogation
During the remand hearing, Assistant Public Prosecutor Satish Rao argued that custodial interrogation outside the prison premises was essential to unearth the smuggling network. Rao informed the court that interrogating the accused inside the prison facility was unviable given the suspected involvement of prison staff, making police custody necessary to determine how digital devices and peripheral accessories bypassed security checkpoints.
Defense counsel Advocate Arun G opposed the prosecution's application for police custody. Grounding his argument on procedural convenience, Arun submitted that the Parappana Agrahara police station is situated directly opposite the prison complex. He contended that investigating officers could easily access the prison grounds to conduct questioning without removing the convicted former lawmaker from judicial custody. Magistrate Sandeep Patil rejected the defense submission and granted the two-day police remand.
Scope of Inquiry and Next Procedural Steps
The police registered the formal case under Section 323 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which pertains to fraudulent concealment of property, alongside statutory provisions of the Karnataka Prisons (Amendment) Act, 2022. The legislation prescribes strict penalties for unauthorized possession or smuggling of communication devices within correctional facilities across the state.
Explaining the immediate focus of the custodial probe, a senior investigating officer stated, "We will be questioning Prajwal and Pratap about who and when were they provided with the phone and other seized items, as well as the role of the prison personnel, who helped them smuggle the contraband inside the prison." Both accused remain in police custody as law enforcement prepares to present its preliminary interrogation findings and FSL digital analysis before the magistrate court when the matter comes up for its next scheduled hearing on September 10, 2026.
