Sasikala had special privileges in Bengaluru jail, authorities confirm; probe ordered

Senior prison officials have confirmed that special privileges were extended to AIADMK (Amma) leader VK Sasikala inside the Parappana Agrahara Central Jail in Bengaluru, according to media reports. Officers of the prisons department have admitted before members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly that these privileges were extended to Sasikala and multi-crore stamp paper scam kingpin Abdul Karim Telgi inside the jail,  Deccan Chronicle reported. The officials also admitted that Sasikala had a passage and five rooms entirely for herself. [caption id=“attachment_3829171” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of D Roopa. News18[/caption] “So far, the allegation regarding special treatment meted out to Sasikala and Telgi, as mentioned in the report submitted by (DIG) Roopa turns out to be true. Our committee has directed the senior officials to identify the jail officials who are involved in the irregularities,” Deccan Chronicle quoted a PAC member as saying. The report added that PAC has also asked both ADGP Prisons NS Megharikh and DIG HS Revanna , who have replaced Rao and Moudgil in the prison respectively, to submit a detailed report. The PAC is headed by Bharatiya Janata Party MLA and former home minister R Ashok, who has asked the prison officials to submit a report within 15 days, according to India Today. The irregularities came to the fore earlier in July when former DIG Prisons, Bengaluru D Roopa Moudgil submitted a report to the home secretary and four other departments, accusing former DIG and IGP of Prisons HN Satyanarayana Rao of receiving Rs two crore as bribe to extend the special privileges to Sasikala. “Sasikala has given Rs one crore bribe to Rao and another Rs one crore was distributed among officials, including warden of the central jail, where she is serving 4-year sentence in an illegal wealth case, for allowing her special privileges,” DIG Roopa Moudgil’s report allegedly said. “As a reward for bribing the prison authorities from Rao to jail warden, Sasikala gets special menu daily, cooked by special chefs in a special kitchen near the women’s cell,” Roopa is said to have mentioned in the report. This was followed by a major backlash against Roopa as senior officials claimed that it was inappropriate to approach the media regarding the issue. “I have served a memo to her (Roopa) seeking explanation and evidence to prove her wild allegations. She has not given any report to me or the government against me or other jail officials,” Rao had initially said. Days after the submission of the report, Roopa was transferred to another department in Karnataka Police. DGP Prisons Sathyanarayana Rao was also transferred last week with immediate effect. Sasikala has been lodged at Bengaluru’s Parappana Agrahara central jail since her conviction in February in a disproportionate assets case along with her two relatives, VN Sudhakaran and Elavarasi, all serving a four-year jail term. With inputs from agencies