Shivamogga jail inmate swallows cell phone, life saved after emergency surgery
Shivamogga: A shocking case has emerged from the Shivamogga Central Prison, where an inmate swallowed a mobile phone, endangering his life. The incident has once again raised serious concerns about the security and contraband flow inside Karnataka’s jails.
The inmate, identified as Daulat, is undergoing a 10-year sentence in connection with a 2021 narcotics case involving the transportation of large quantities of ganja. He had been convicted and sentenced in 2024 by a Shivamogga court and lodged in the central prison since.
On June 24, Daulat complained of severe abdominal pain to the prison medical staff, claiming he had swallowed a stone. Upon further investigation and X-ray scans at McGann District Hospital, doctors discovered a foreign object lodged inside his stomach. It turned out to be a basic keypad mobile phone, roughly 1 inch wide and 3 inches long.
Recognizing the life-threatening nature of the situation, a team of three doctors performed emergency surgery on June 27, successfully removing the phone from the inmate’s stomach. Daulat survived the risky procedure and was discharged after a full recovery on July 8, after which he was returned to prison custody.
Following the incident, the Jail Superintendent filed a police complaint, and an FIR has been registered.
This bizarre incident sheds light on the rampant access inmates seem to have to prohibited items like mobile phones inside prisons.
Despite strict rules banning such devices, multiple raids and past reports have shown that mobile phones, drugs, and even luxury items are making their way into jails, allegedly with insider assistance or through bribes.
How Daulat obtained the mobile phone, and why he chose to swallow it, remains unclear. Authorities are now probing the matter further to determine the source of the contraband and any potential collusion among jail staff or external agents.
This episode is a stark reminder of the deep-rooted issues plaguing the prison system, where security loopholes continue to endanger lives and undermine the rule of law.
