Authorities in Kerala have uncovered a disturbing trend of prisons turning into informal training grounds for criminal activity, with experienced offenders allegedly conducting "classes" on robbery and theft for fellow inmates.

According to officials, these sessions involve seasoned criminals passing on detailed tips to inmates jailed for petty offences, helping them plan foolproof crimes after release.

In one such instance, inmates were instructed on how to steal a motor from a borewell without arousing suspicion. The method involved carefully removing the hose and rope, detaching the motor, and then restoring the setup so that the owner would assume a technical fault rather than theft. By the time an electrician arrived to inspect the borewell, the stolen motor would already have been sold, often in Coimbatore.

The advice was reportedly delivered by an "expert" thief who had carried out more than 100 motor thefts. Police said such mentoring has contributed to a rise in well-planned crimes, with several recent robberies reported in the Pala and Erattupetta police station limits found to have been conceived while the accused were lodged in jail.

In one case, police arrested a young man who attempted to execute a theft using techniques he had learned in prison. In another incident in 2024, a youth who had recently secured bail returned to a jail within days, claiming to meet old acquaintances. His suspicious behaviour prompted a body search, during which ganja was recovered.

Investigations revealed that the youth had received detailed instructions from fellow inmates on procuring and smuggling ganja into the prison. Officials said the entire operation- from sourcing the contraband to planning its delivery- had been chalked out inside the jail.

A shocking development related to jails took place on April 21, 2025. Amit Urang, a native of Assam, was arrested and jailed for stealing a mobile phone and other valuables worth ₹2.79 lakh belonging to T K Vijayakumar, owner of Indraprastham auditorium at Thirunakkara in Kottayam and a resident of Sreevatsam in Thiruvathukkal.

In the prison, Amit received help from fellow prisoners to obtain bail, which was granted based on the surety of two women belonging to Ettumanoor. These women, who hardly knew Amit, received ₹5,000 each for standing surety. The entire operation was carried out by a gang in prison which arranged bail for inmates by collecting a ‘fee.’

Amit, who was released on bail, went to the house of Vijayakumar in the heart of Kottayam town and killed Vijayakumar and his wife, Dr Meera, on April 21 last year.