Jail authorities ensure NRHM scam accused have stress-free stay

Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh): For the authorities of Dasna jail, one of their highest priorities presently, is ensuring that twenty one of their high profile inmates should not suffer from depression or any mental stress as they remain lodged there in connection with the multi-crore National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scam in Uttar Pradesh. The 21 inmates are facing charges of accepting bribes and misappropriation of funds.  And, while none of them had any qualms in misusing the over Rs 9,000 crore disbursed between 2007 and 2012 by the Central government for medical initiatives in the state, jail officials are trying to ensure that they do not experience any mental stress or depression during their stay in jail as undertrials. [caption id=“attachment_350316” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Dasna jail in which most of the accused in the NRHM scam are remanded. Firstpost/ Arlene Chang”]  [/caption] Twenty of the 21 accused in the case – including Uttar Pradesh’s former family welfare minister during the Mayawati-led government, Babu Singh Kushwaha and Bahujan Samajwadi Party MLA RP Jaiswal – are all lodged in barrack 12 of the jail. This particular barrack is lodged inside the juvenile enclosure (meant for inmates between the age of 18 to 21 years) which also houses barrack 11. During the day all inmates whose barracks are in the same enclosure are free to roam around the enclosure. “All the accused in the case are kept inside the same barrack so that they can talk to each other and stay free from tension,” said Viresh Raj Sharma, superintendent of Dasna Jail. “We have to make sure that these inmates don’t go into depression and since they know each other from before we decided to keep them in one barrack so that they keep each other company,” Sharma said. Describing the accused in the NRHM scam, Sharma told Firstpost that the conduct of the accused has only been in line. “None of the accused misbehave or disobey protocol or the jail’s rules,” the superintendent said. While the jail has 10 high security cells, which have no windows, two sun roofs for sunlight and a single entry and exit, the state’s NRHM scam accused don’t come under the category that the jail authorities would describe as  “high risk prisoners”. They say that the barrack housing the 20 accused in the scam has adequate security, which is – a single CCTV camera which only monitors visuals and does not record conversations. Another accused in the multi crore NRHM scam, senior IAS officer and 1981 topper Pradeep Shukla , has been lodged in the special hospital enclosure for almost a month now. The jail’s authorities said last month that Sharma had developed a tumor in his spinal chord , following which he was moved into barrack 1A – a special barrack for inmates with serious and persistent health problems. Prison authorities refute allegations that they have provided Shukla with any special facilities –like a special cooler in his barrack – except a bed. However, the former IAS officer is presently lodged in a barrack situated is in the hospital enclosure.This enclosure in fact, has five coolers. While prison authorities say that Shukla is under 24 hour supervision of a doctor and a constable, he cannot be restrained from roaming around the enclosure, unlike all other enclosures in the jail. The authorities also denied providing special treatment to Kushwaha, Jaiswal and the other accused in barrack 12. “They have around 12 fans and one television whose programs are monitored and controlled by the jail authorities,” Sharma said. In the charge sheet against Kushwaha and former Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) MLA RP Jaiswal, the CBI had alleged that the former health minister had invented ingenuous ways to cover up the trail of the ‘gratification’ money. “The money used to go through several companies located in West Bengal, Mumbai and Patna before reaching Kushwaha, his wife and relatives and Jaiswal in firms and trusts owned by them. Kushwaha used to camouflage the ‘gratification’ money as donation or business transaction,’’ a senior CBI official had told _Firstpost_ . The agency’s search for more ‘illegal gratification’ continues. It has so far trailed only Rs 320 crore spent in various medical welfare schemes under NRHM and is yet to go after over Rs 9,000 crore disbursed to Uttar Pradesh in the five years between 2007 and 2012. And even as the CBI chases a hot trail, Kushwaha and his croonies cool their heels in jail – under fans, coolers and in the protective embrace of jail authorities.