This might be a classic case of people landing in a fix thanks to the lack of knowledge of technology – and more importantly, Facebook’s privacy options. In the southern Indian state of Kerala, a bunch of jail inmates who were behind bars for being key conspirators in a murder case were caught freely using Facebook and smartphones, allegedly with the connivance of jail authorities.
The people in jail were accused of being the killers of former Communist party (Marxist) leader TP Chandrashekeran who was brutally hacked to death in May 2012 for defecting and forming a new party called the Revolutionary Marxist Party. One of the key accused in the case, Manoj Kirmani was arrested in June 2012 and has been in jail, facing trial ever since. There were other accused in the jail with him as well – including Sunil Kumar (Kodi Suni) and Mohammed Shafi. All of them were leading a fairly easy life in jail, the photos suggest.
From what is being known now, all of them who were housed in the Kozhikode District Jail had free and unrestricted access to smartphones. Using these phones, they made more than 800 calls to the outside world – allegedly to influence the witnesses in the ongoing trial. Now they didn’t stop there. The trio freely uploaded photos of themselves enjoying their stay inside the District Jail. On one of the photos, one of their friend even comments” Is Facebook allowed in Jail?”.
It is unsure at this moment if these people had any idea about Facebook’s privacy options or they were so unperturbed by the kind of support police officials gave them that they simply did not care.
Anyway, this has posed serious questions on the conduct of jail officials at Kozhikode District Jail. While these people are yet to be pronounced guilty, it is evident that these people had significant political support. How else can one expect people to use Facebook from smartphones from within Jail premises without the jail authorities’ knowledge?
This might also show total ignorance of Facebook’s privacy options. All photos posted by these people have their visibility set to public. It was therefore very easy for anyone to see them. They might be removed or deleted soon, however. We do have screenshots, though.
