Bid to shift inmate to curb ganja trade
The Dandupalya gang, named after the village it hails from, made headlines between 1996 and 2001 for several rapes and murders of women. Seven of the gang have been awarded death sentences and are housed in the Hindalga jail in Belagavi. But the gang has officials on their toes once again.
After police unearthed an active ganja (marijuana) trade operated by the gang from within the prison, they on 30 May have sought police escort to transfer one of the gang’s accomplices - Shivalinga - to Kalaburgi prison. Dandupalya members, who are his barrack mates, help transport contraband within the prisons, an official told Bangalore Mirror.
“Prior to February 2014, they (gang members) were kept in Andheri cells, where those with a death sentence are kept in isolation. Here, women visitors would sneak in contraband. They initially sold it to Shivalinga at wholesale prices, and he in turn would sell it to others at retail prices.
The gang was soon shifted to normal barracks on Supreme Court’s direction. There too, they started selling ganja at retail prices, a source told Bangalore Mirror.
Shivalinga, who was convicted in a highway robbery and murder case, was earlier awarded the death sentence. This was commuted to life imprisonment later. To split the nexus and curb the gang, Prisons department brass has sought a district police escort to shift Shivalinga to Kalaburgi. The prison brass said the Dandupalya gang members were serving death sentences and couldn’t be transferred elsewhere.
“On April 20, a first division assistant, SK Sutar, was caught with 17 packets of ganja at the gate. These were meant for Shivalinga and his gang. This has to be probed by the prisons brass. This is a small example of how a few Dandupalya gang members along with a few inmates run the illegal ganja trade from within the prison,” added the source.
After police unearthed an active ganja (marijuana) trade operated by the gang from within the prison, they on 30 May have sought police escort to transfer one of the gang’s accomplices - Shivalinga - to Kalaburgi prison. Dandupalya members, who are his barrack mates, help transport contraband within the prisons, an official told Bangalore Mirror.
“Prior to February 2014, they (gang members) were kept in Andheri cells, where those with a death sentence are kept in isolation. Here, women visitors would sneak in contraband. They initially sold it to Shivalinga at wholesale prices, and he in turn would sell it to others at retail prices.
The gang was soon shifted to normal barracks on Supreme Court’s direction. There too, they started selling ganja at retail prices, a source told Bangalore Mirror.
Shivalinga, who was convicted in a highway robbery and murder case, was earlier awarded the death sentence. This was commuted to life imprisonment later. To split the nexus and curb the gang, Prisons department brass has sought a district police escort to shift Shivalinga to Kalaburgi. The prison brass said the Dandupalya gang members were serving death sentences and couldn’t be transferred elsewhere.
“On April 20, a first division assistant, SK Sutar, was caught with 17 packets of ganja at the gate. These were meant for Shivalinga and his gang. This has to be probed by the prisons brass. This is a small example of how a few Dandupalya gang members along with a few inmates run the illegal ganja trade from within the prison,” added the source.
