AIADMK general secretary V.K. Sasikala, who not so long ago was eyeing the chief minister’s chair in Tamil Nadu, is geared up for a tough life at the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison in Bengaluru. Sasikala, along with co-accused and sister-in-law J. Elavarasi, is being treated like any other prisoner. They are being served the usual food meant for regular prisoners. Sasikala, it is learnt, has not started wearing the prisoner’s saris and blouses which were issued to her.
Sasikala, who was refused class A accommodation at the prison, lives in a 10 feet by 8 feet cell which she shares with Elavarasi. The cell has a fan and a semi-enclosed partition with a toilet. Sasikala and Elavarasi were given a pillow, a blanket and a plate soon after they arrived. Later, a cot was provided to Sasikala, who is a diabetic patient, following the advice of doctors. On the first day Sasikala was denied home-cooked food, so she refused the dinner provided by the jail authorities. Next day, she woke up early morning, took a walk and did yoga. At the prison, Sasikala is expected to make candles, for which the jail authorities will pay her Rs 50 per day.
Sasikala, who was earlier convicted and lodged in the same prison with former Tamil Nadu chief minister, J. Jayalalithaa, had thought she would be given the facilities that she had earlier got. But the court rejected her plea.
Sasikala looked disturbed most of the time at the jail.
In Sasikala’s neighbouring cell is Cyanide Mallika, the country’s first woman serial killer, who is convicted of poisoning women for gold in temples in and around Bengaluru. Mallika, 52, used to pose as an ardent devotee at temples and track women in distress. She would listen to their tales and make them drink water mixed with cyanide. After the victims died, Mallika vanished with their jewellery. Mallika is a diehard fan of Jayalalithaa, but Sasikala has ignored her efforts to make friends with her.
At the prison, Sasikala will have access to the library and is entitled to two newspapers a day.
Said Satyanarayana Rao, DGP, Karnataka Prison, to THE WEEK, “Sasikala is being treated like any other inmate. There is no special treatment being given to her. As far as I know, she is cooperating well. As days progress, she will get used to it.”
The new Tamil Nadu chief minister, Edappadi Palaniswami, who was slated to meet Sasikala in Bengaluru, has postponed his visit. A special session of the Tamil Nadu assembly has been called on February 18, where Palaniswami will have to prove majority.
