A Crime Branch raid on August 11 found Revanna allegedly using the phone. Officers also seized a charger, pen drive and notebook, raising questions over how banned devices entered the prison.
BY PC Bureau
September 12, 2026: Jail authorities have recovered a cache of pornographic videos from a mobile phone allegedly smuggled into the prison cell of convicted former MP Prajwal Revanna, with forensic examination confirming that the device contained dozens of such videos.
A Crime Branch raid at Parappana Agrahara Central Prison on August 11 caught the Janata Dal (Secular) leader allegedly using the mobile phone inside a high-security barrack. Officers also seized a charger, a pen drive and a notebook during the operation. Forensic analysis of the seized devices subsequently found dozens of pornographic videos on the mobile phone, while the pen drive contained web-series content.
The seizure has raised fresh questions over security inside one of Karnataka’s most closely watched prisons and allegations that high-profile inmates may have access to facilities or privileges not ordinarily available to other prisoners. Mobile phones and other unauthorised personal communication devices are prohibited inside Indian prisons because they can be used to communicate secretly, coordinate illegal activities, intimidate witnesses or influence people outside jail.
Under prison rules, inmates are generally expected to communicate with the outside world only through authorised and monitored channels. Depending on the prison and applicable state rules, these can include monitored telephone facilities and approved video-calling systems. Personal mobile phones, SIM cards, chargers and other unauthorised communication equipment are not permitted inside barracks. Prison authorities are responsible for searches, surveillance and preventing contraband from entering the premises.
Phone found inside Prajwal Revanna prison cell contained porn, pen drive had movies. The FSL Analysis has confirmrd this. It’s likely that the case will be handed over to SIT. pic.twitter.com/V80EeHHXls
— Deepak Bopanna (@dpkBopanna) September 12, 2026
The discovery has also put the spotlight on how a mobile phone and accessories could reach a high-security barrack in the first place. A prison official was suspended following the raid, while an inquiry has been initiated to determine how the device entered the jail and whether any officials or other individuals facilitated access to it.
Revanna, the grandson of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda and nephew of Union minister HD Kumaraswamy, is serving a life sentence after being convicted in a rape case. He was convicted last year of repeatedly sexually assaulting a 48-year-old domestic worker at the family farmhouse in Holenarasipura in Hassan district and of circulating videos of the alleged assaults. The woman had alleged that she was threatened with the release of the recordings if she complained.
The case emerged as part of a wider controversy surrounding allegations of sexual abuse against Revanna and the circulation of purported sexual-assault videos. His arrest and subsequent prosecution attracted national attention because of his political position and his family’s prominence in Karnataka politics.
The alleged circulation of recordings was particularly significant to the prosecution because the victim claimed that the videos were used as a means of intimidation. The case therefore involved not only allegations of sexual violence but also serious questions concerning the recording and dissemination of material connected to the alleged assaults.
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The latest prison incident does not by itself alter Revanna’s conviction or sentence in the rape case. Instead, it raises a separate prison-security issue: whether an inmate serving a life sentence was able to obtain and use an unauthorised mobile phone and whether prison personnel failed to enforce mandatory security protocols.
The incident is likely to intensify scrutiny of Parappana Agrahara Central Prison, which has faced controversies in the past over allegations of preferential treatment, contraband and lapses in prison security. The inquiry will have to establish how the phone entered the prison, who supplied it, whether the device was used for communication beyond watching videos, and whether any prison personnel were involved.
For prison authorities, the issue goes beyond the possession of pornography. The presence of an unauthorised smartphone inside a high-security facility represents a potentially serious breach of prison regulations because such devices can provide inmates with unrestricted internet access, private communication and the ability to record or transmit information from inside the prison.
