Four undertrial inmates at Mangaluru’s prison have been booked under the Karnataka Control of Organised Crimes Act (KCOCA) for allegedly extorting ₹20,000 from a fellow prisoner, in a case registered at Barke Police Station (Case No. 76/2025).
The accused—Dhanush Bhandary alias Dhanu, Dilesh Bangera alias Dillu, Loy Vegas alias Loy, and Sachin Talapadi—are said to have assaulted the victim and coerced him into transferring money through his wife to bank accounts provided by the accused.
Police invoked Sections 308(4) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and applied KCOCA after it was found that the four were already facing multiple serious criminal cases, each carrying punishments of over three years. Their repeated offenses qualified as “Organized Crime,” “Organized Crime Syndicate,” and “Continuing Unlawful Activity” under the KCOCA.
Under KCOCA, convicted individuals face stringent punishments starting from a minimum of five years in prison to life imprisonment. In cases where organized crime results in death, penalties may extend to life imprisonment or even the death penalty.
Importantly, the law allows prosecution even without prior convictions, if a person is proven to be part of an organized crime syndicate.
Authorities are now intensifying the probe, and the case underscores growing concern about criminal syndicates operating even within the prison system.