Telangana state’s prisons offer its VIP inmates a chair, table, fan, bed and food
The Telangana State Prison Manual doesn't allow the department to take money from prisoners and provide special facilities
Hyderabad: Sahara Group chief Subrata Roy had to pay Rs 31 lakh as charges to stay in an air-conditioned facility and using services like phone, Internet and video conferencing inside the Tihar Jail.
Following a Supreme Court order, the prison department allowed him to use the facilities for 57 days to negotiate sale of his luxury hotels abroad, so that he could accumulate money to pay Rs 10,000 crore for his bail.
Tihar Jail could provide these ‘five star’ facilities for a huge sum, but Telangana State Prisons Department cannot, even if a situation arises. TS prison higher officials say that the State Prison Manual doesn’t allow the department to take money from prisoners and provide special facilities.
“There was no Subrata Roy like situation, which is based on a special court order here in Telangana. We do not have any such provisions to provide special facilities to the prisoners who can pay the money,” he said.
However, the VIPs, who were lodged in central prisons in Hyderabad had enjoyed a “special class” status, which was based on the court order. When Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy was in jail in connection with disproportionate asset case, he and 12 other prisoners were enjoying special status.
“If a prisoner has special class status, he or she will be given a fan, a reading table, a chair, a reading lamp, and a bed, which are not provided to other common prisoners. He or she will also be allowed to bring food ingredients like rice, meat and vegetables to the jail from outside, and can get them cooked in the prison’s kitchen,” said Chanchalguda Central Jail Superintendent B. Saidulu.
None of the special class prisoners had to pay since the status was granted by the court. “The prisoners can approach court seeking the status, and based on their needs, the court will grant the status,” an official said. But, it does not include AC room, or internet connection, or video conferencing facilities.
Along with Jagan, bigwigs like former excise minister Mopidevi Venkataramana Rao, industrialist Nimmagadda Prasad, bureaucrat Vijay Sai Reddy, and suspended senior IAS officer Y. Srilakshmi were granted “special class prisoner” status.
Now, Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) Managing Director B.V. Srinivas Reddy, who was arrested and lodged in Chanchalguda Prison in connection with the alleged illegal mining case, has moved a Special Court seeking the status.
( Source : dc )
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