Jaipur, May 26, 2028.
As prison guards sipped tea outside a Jaipur hotel lobby, a pair of high-profile inmates tucked into a leisurely breakfast — handcuffs stuffed discreetly into a backpack under the table. Across town, another duo lounged in a room booked under a woman’s name — one was a convicted extortionist’s confidant, the other his accomplice. The women they met were one’s wife and another’s girlfriend.
Saturday’s brunch, served hot with poha and betrayal, has triggered one of Rajasthan’s most explosive prison scandals in recent memory.
Five inmates from Jaipur central jail, all facing charges ranging from sexual assault to murder, were scheduled for medical examinations at SMS Hospital. Only one prisoner made it to the hospital. The other four — Rafiq Bakri, Bhanwar Lal, Ankit Bansal, and Karan Gupta — disappeared into city hotels, their police escorts allegedly complicit. They had allegedly faked illness and jail doctors approved the trip.
By Sunday, 13 people were arrested — including five constables, four inmates and four of their relatives — and Jaipur’s prison system left red-faced amid allegations of deep-rooted corruption and a thriving extortion racket operating under jail supervision.
“This system runs on money — doctors, transport staff, and senior officials are all complicit,” one inmate allegedly confessed during interrogation.
According to investigators, the prisoners shelled out Rs 25,000 through an intermediary for their unauthorised outings. Escorts, reportedly promised Rs 5,000 each, turned a blind eye.
DCP (East) Tejaswani Gautam said Rafiq and Bhanwar had a rendezvous with Rafiq’s wife and Bhanwar’s former girlfriend at a Jalupura hotel. Rafiq’s wife was found carrying narcotics and now faces charges under the NDPS Act. Ankit and Karan enjoyed breakfast at a hotel near the airport — booked by Ankit’s girlfriend.
The four were due back at 5.30pm Saturday — none returned on time. One relative of an inmate was caught at a hotel with Rs 45,000 in cash. Police found multiple inmate IDs from the premises.
Jail sources said the mastermind is a convicted extortionist operating from inside, using a network of paid enablers — both in uniform and beyond.
Over 200 phone calls intercepted since April painted a chilling portrait of Rajasthan’s carceral ecosystem, where phones flowed freely, bribes moved faster than case files, and inmates scheduled leisure as easily as legal hearings. By late Sunday, authorities registered a formal case at SMS police station.
The central jail has been in the news for major security breaches over the month, including inmates using mobile phones to threaten VVIPs, including CM Bhajan Lal Sharma. Rajasthan’s prison officials now scramble to explain how guards became chauffeurs, patients became hotel guests, and jail became a revolving door for those who could pay.
