Prison official denies jailed beedi tycoon made calls with mobile phone

Amid a controversy over alleged use of mobile phone by beedi tycoon Muhammed Nisham, serving term for killing a security guard, a senior prison official on Saturday denied the allegation and said he had not made any mobile calls from jail.
DIG of prisons (north zone) Sivadas K Thaiparambil visited Kannur Central Prison, where Nisham is lodged, and said the convict had not made any mobile calls from the jail.
However, on October 20, he was taken to a Bengaluru court in connection with a case and while on transit he had made two calls, the DIG told PTI.

His statement came hours after chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan took note of media reports about Nisham allegedly getting various facilities in the jail and sought immediate action on the matter from the prison authorities.
The DIG said Nisham had admitted that he had made two calls to his brothers while on transit, he said.
Earlier, the brothers filed a complaint with Thrissur rural superintendent of police R Nishantini, alleging that Nisham had threatened them from jail in Kannur by calling on their mobile phone. A search was conducted in the prison cell where Nisham is lodged, but no mobile phone was found, the DIG said.
When asked about reports that Nisham was regularly in touch with his wife and business associates, he said the convict was entitled to use the coin phone in the jail premises. The DIG also said he has filed a report with the DGP Prisons stating that no mobile calls had been made by the accused while inside the prison.
Reports had alleged that Nisham was in possession of two mobile phones and he was frequently making calls.
As the issue heated up, Vijayan said appropriate action would be taken if it was found that Nisham had been provided undue facilities at the central prison. In a Facebook post, the chief minister said he had already sought immediate intervention and action in the matter Give Us Life.
“Media reports about Nisham getting various facilities in Kannur jail came to my notice. Details have been sought from the department,” he said in the post.
Jail authorities have informed him that they had intervened and were taking appropriate action, he said. Reacting to the reports, Leader of the Opposition in Assembly Ramesh Chennithala said it was a matter of concern that Nisham was getting “VIP treatment” in prison and demanded stern action against officials who gave him “silent support”.
Nisham had run over 51-year old security guard Chandrabose with his Hummer SUV after brutally beating him for delay in opening the main gates of the posh residential complex ‘Shobha city’ in Thrissur in the early hours of January 29 last year.