Sasikala given preferential treatment in prison: Inquiry report

BENGALURU: An inquiry committee headed by a retired IAS officer Vinay Kumar has found that AIADMK leader V K Sasikala serving a four-year sentence in a disproportionate assets case was accorded special treatment which included additional cells and a separate kitchen in Central Prison, Bengaluru.
The committee’s findings were revealed in reply to an Right to Information (RTI) query raised by IPS officer D Roopa.
The report, which TOI has accessed, says that though Sasikala was entitled to just one room, four additional rooms were allotted to her. Sasikala and and her fellow convict, J llavarasi, were allotted a cell in the first floor, while the adjacent cells were not allotted to anybody and the entire wing was cordoned off citing security reasons.
When Sasikala arrived in the jail, prisoners in the adjacent four rooms were shifted out and the cells were made available to her. Though convicts do not have the provision to cook their food, one convict, Ajantha, was provided to cook exclusively for Sasikala.
Sasikala was allowed 23 visits between February 15, 2017, the day of her incarceration, and June 16. She met 48 people during these visits. The report also said that people were allowed to meet her in groups in violation of the rule book.
The committee also found it odd that even though the facility of the visitors room on the first floor was created on the grounds of security, the prison administration thought it fit to open a second register only for Sasikala.
The committee said the CCTV footage was crucial during the probe and it showed that Sasikala and Ilavarsi were not donning the jail uniform throughout the time period.
In July 2017, Roopa had alleged that crores of rupees had changed hands to provide special privileges to Sasikala. She had accused DGP (prisons) H S Sathyanarayana Rao of facilitating the scandal, following which the inquiry committee was formed by the state government to probe the matter.
'I stand vindicated'
Reacting to the probe committee report, Roopa said that she stands vindicated and hoped that the culprits are punished.
"I had no vested interests. Unfortunately when I reported it, it was not taken at face value. It is good that an independent inquiry committee was set up, and it confirmed what I had said. In fact it goes further by talking of falsification of records and such things. I hope this is taken to its logical conclusion, and that the culprits are punished," she said.