It is said that everything is available and anything is possible in the maximum-security Tihar Jail for the right price. But those days may be over soon.
The new boss of the prison, Sanjay Beniwal, is readying to end a decades-old class system among prisoners.
Tihar has been home to a wide array of inmates, some of whom have been allowed a lot of latitude based on their power and pelf.
Rumours abound that Charles Sobhraj paid in gems for sundry outsize privileges, including entertaining ladies in his cell. Also in the same cell was a wrongly convicted prisoner who managed to survive by typing petitions and doing paperwork for jail officers and staff.
There were those who got away, literally, and those who didn't. Some could leave the prison in the evening, check into a five-star hotel, and return at dawn. An arms dealer was seen shopping at an expensive mall while he was supposed to be locked up inside. Some routinely had meals from five-star hotels delivered to their cells.
Once, jail officials created a whole new space to hold a former Prime Minister, but he never came. Others bribed big shots to dilute their cases for an early release.
One undertrial prisoner had his designer wardrobe moved into Tihar, while another with a fascination for designer shoes filled half her cell with them.
But the majority of prisoners can’t pay and do not get the perks that their rich and powerful fellow-inmates can.
Rich inmates draw up their own jail manual and frame their own set of rules with the help of prisoners who have been around long enough to understand its nitty-gritties and how certain guidelines can be bypassed.
Such is the crisis at Tihar that Delhi Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena recently held a meeting to review the workings of the prison.
Beniwal is trying to grasp the situation, and understand who is helping whom. He has turfed out certain members of the jail staff, it is reliably learnt. The new jailor wants his officers to be ambassadors of a new Tihar. More importantly, he wants to set in motion a system where “a sense of equality prevails within the jail,” according to sources speaking on condition of anonymity.
Beniwal plans to keep a close watch on the rich and famous prisoners who comprise roughly 10 percent of the 21,000-plus inmates, but enjoy favours none of the others do.
“The first couple of months will be crucial, Beniwal knows he must do a tightrope walk as he’s taking on powerful people," the sources explained.
In a first of its kind in Tihar, Beniwal’s predecessor Sandeep Goel was transferred following allegations of extortion from a conman.
Sukesh Chandrashekhar, a conman with over 40 cases against him, had accused Goel of extorting Rs 10 crore from him as protection money.
Chandrashekhar had written to the Lt Governor alleging that he was forced to pay Rs 10 crore “protection money” to Goel to live safely in jail, and get what he’s entitled to. The cash was paid in faraway Kolkata. Chandrashekar said Goel was accompanied by Sushil Kumar, a two-time Olympic medallist currently in Tihar on charges of murdering a fellow wrestler.
Chandrashekar’s letter was quoted by wire news agencies.
Sources say that Chandrashekhar and his gang have been making calls all over the country from international numbers and promising relatives of undertrials speedy bail orders in exchange for some money.
The Singh brothers of Ranbaxy reportedly paid close to Rs 200 crore to secure bail.
While the calls displayed an international number, Beniwal’s men traced the calls to Janakpuri in Delhi, close to the jail complex.
Besides the allegations against Goel, there is also the suspension of Ajit Kumar, superintendent of jail number 7, who allegedly circumvented rules to give special facilities to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) minister Satyendra Jain.
According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Jain was apparently living it up in jail, with regular massages, and visits from his family members and witnesses in the case in which he has been arrested.
Until his arrest in an alleged money-laundering case, Jain was minister of prisons in Delhi. “This is a very sensitive issue with loads of political implications. AAP blames the ED for leaking videos showing Jain getting a massage in his cell, which the ED, which functions under the centre, denies outright. So the new jailor has to do a balancing act,” adds the source.
Soon after Kumar was suspended, as many as 28 officers directly in charge of the cell where Jain is lodged have been transferred last month. Among those transferred were two deputy superintendents, three assistant superintendents, seven head warders, and 16 warders. There is a departmental inquiry into their role.
Beniwal is not going to pamper prisoners, say sources, and for a change, the Tihar elite are worried as their supply lines have been snapped and their privileges have vanished. Worse, their fixers outside are unable to reach anyone inside the prison.
Life behind bars in Tihar will soon undergo some fundamental changes.
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