Gangster tells Bombay High Court he was shunted out of Arthur Road's 'anda cell' because he failed to cough up Rs 5 lakh every month as bribe, alleges jail officials threw him out to the barracks

Mumbai's oldest and largest prison, Arthur Road jail is selling a day-night luxury package. The jail's anda cell (egg-shaped high security block) can be secured for a sum of R5 lakh monthly over the decrepit, unhygienic and unsafe normal barracks, a gangster has said in an application made to the Bombay High Court recently. A 'comfortable stay' includes the delivery of a personal tiffin, access to cigarettes, magazines, playing cards, a carrom board, television, radio, and other facilities.

In a recent application made by underworld gangster Vilas Bharati, a member of the Chh­otta Rajan gang, lodged in Art­hur Road Jail in HC, he has alleged that many undertrials there are paying hefty amo­unts to the jail staff for a “comfortable stay” inside. The acc­used in extortion and murder cases wrote to the court, alleging that he was thrown out of the anda cell and put in 'normal' barracks because he couldn't afford to pay R5 lakh.

No money, no anda

According to Bharati, he couldn't fulfil the demands of jail officers or entertain them. He alleged that officers told him that another accused (involved in a cheating case) put up in anda cell was paying them R5 lakh a month, and because there was no “income” from him (Bharati), they were shifting him to regular barracks. “I was in anda cell for 38 months; there was not a single complaint from or against me. And now, suddenly, they have thrown me out from there. I informed the judge, but jail officers then submitted bogus reports on the matter in court,” alleged Bharati.

He added that since he has been shifted, his health has got affected because of the other accused's bad habits. “In the barracks, almost every accused smokes or consumes ganja, dirtying the living space to no end. I want to know why the canteen is selling tobacco and cigarettes to the inmates in the first place,” he said.



Illustration/ Uday Mohite

Only for the privileged

Speaking to mid-day, Abdul Wahid Shaikh, who was acquitted by the sessions court last year after spending nine years in Arthur Road Jail, said, “Because we were named in high-profile cases, we were kept in anda cell, which has a rate card. It starts from R2 lakh and goes up to R10 lakh, depending on what all the accused is demanding. Luxury is mostly given to high-profile accused and those who can afford it.”

“The jail is overcrowded and filthy; many accused in the barracks don't get a proper place to sleep, and no proper food and water. Some accused smoke and consume drugs, some are sodomised. To avoid all this, a few inmates ask for private places – anda cell and circle no. 10,” he said.

When contacted, inspector general of police (prisons, west) Rajwardhan Sinha told mid-day, “I have not got any complaint that an inmate was thrown out of anda cell because he couldn't pay R5 lakh.”