Sasikala, aides were given VIP facilities in jail, reveals RTI  

Chennai: A Right to Information query has revealed that former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's close aide Sasikala, who is serving a four-year jail term after being convicted in disproportionate assets case, has been enjoying VIP facilities.

"She was entitled to one room but was given four. In the other four rooms, female convicts were staying up to February 14, 2017. Once Sasikala reached, they were sent out and all five rooms were given to her. There is no provision for cooking food in the prison but jail authorities deputed one convict to cook for Sasikala. Systems in place were ignored. People used to come in groups, go to her room directly and stay for 3-4 hours. Rules were violated," said RTI activist Narasimha Murthy.

D Roopa, then Deputy Inspector General, Prisons, had first flagged in 2017, that Sasikala and her associates were getting special treatment in jail like separate kitchen, extra rooms and extended visiting hours. Roopa has also suspected the role of the then Director General and her boss, HS Satyanarayan Rao, who had called her allegations "wild and baseless".

In her letter to the higher officials, Ms Roopa had written that Sasikala was being given VIP treatment for a bribe of Rs. 2 crore. The government had appointed Retired IAS Officer Vinay Kumar to head a panel to probe the allegations. The Vinay Kumar Committee report, which is now out, says that rules were broken and Sasikala and her aides were allowed to cook in their cells among other facilities.

Reacting to the RTI findings that Sasikala enjoys special facilities given to her by Bangaluru Central Prison, Deputy Chief Minister, G Parameshwara, who was then the home minister said,"I don't think so."