Sasikala paid Rs 2 crore bribe to jail officials for 'undue' favours: Report

BENGALURU: Deputy inspector general ( DIG ) of prisons D Roopa on Wednesday alleged that senior jail staffers are allowing a host of illegal activities at Central Prison, Parappana Agrahara, including provision of special treatment to former AIADMK general secretary VK Sasikala In a letter to director general and inspector general (DG&IG) of police RK Dutta and DG (prisons) Sathyanarayana Rao, Roopa has said Sasikala is being allowed to use a separate cooking room, while Abdul Karim Telgi, convicted in the stamp paper scam, is provided undertrials as aides.“These violations of prison rules have come to your notice, and there are talks of Rs 2 crore having been given as bribe for the same. I request you to act immediately and punish people breaking the rules,” Roopa’s letter read.Besides these two allegations, the letter points out that of the 25 prisoners who were made to undergo a drug test on July 10, 18 tested positive. The letter lists their names and the drugs found in their system. While most of them were found to have consumed cannabis (ganja), a drug named benzodiazepine was found in four of them.The letter also points to specific cases where senior prison officials have refrained from initiating action, including an instance where an inmate tried attacking a doctor at the prison hospital and another one trying to manhandle a nurse.A copy of the letter is with TOI. Roopa confirmed that she has written a letter to the DG (prisons) but refused to divulge the contents.Sathyanarayana Rao told TOI: “There is no VIP treatment being given to any prisoner. If the DIG finds anything, she must first bring it to my notice and not go to media. I am yet to receive any such letter.” DG&IG Dutta was not immediately available for comments.The prison has been in the eye of a controversy involving Sasikala, who is serving term after being convicted in a disproportionate assets case, and is being allowed to meet several visitors in violation of norms.