January 22nd, 2025 – GS4

You are Inspector General of Prisons (IG Prisons) in your state. One day, a staff member of a central prison under your authority came with an Information that the VIPs inside the prison are getting preferential treatment by the prison authorities. Banned items such as mobile phones, alcohol, cigarettes etc are being provided to them inside the prison, in violation of the prison rules. He had already raised the matter to The Superintendent and The Chief Superintendent of the prison but no action was taken. Consequently, he had no other choice but to come to you.
While you were getting the details of the matter, a picture and a video of some VIPs in the same prison started circulating on social media. The pictures clearly showed them using mobiles, having cigarettes and alcohol in a lawn inside the prison. This led to social media backlash criticizing the prison system in the state. 
The Director General of Police (DGP Prisons) took cognisance of the social media posts and formed a single member committee headed by you to investigate the matter. He also ordered you to take appropriate action after conducting the investigation.  

1. Discuss the ethical issues involved in the case.

2. What course of action would you take to address the situation?

3. What measures would you suggest to eliminate the VIP culture inside the prisons?