Officials of Bengaluru’s Parappana Agrahara Central Prison on Tuesday said the video showing All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief VK Sasikala and her relative J Ilavarasi walking into the jail in civilian clothing was being wrongly used to show that they had been allowed to leave the jail, reported The Times of India.
The CCTV footage, submitted as evidence by former Deputy Inspector General of Prisons D Roopa to the Anti-Corruption Bureau, shows both Sasikala and Ilavarasi walking near an entrance in plain clothes, carrying plastic hand bags. Sasikala was accompanied by police officers as she walked through the entry gate. Ilavarasi was seen walking in behind her.
An unidentified senior prison official, however, denied the allegations that they were allowed out of the prison and said the CCTV footage showed Sasikala and Ilavarasi walking from their barracks towards the visitors’ room to meet their advocates.
“We are open to any investigation,” the official told The Times of India. “The footage is of Sasikala and Ilavarasi walking out of the B Gate en route to the visitors’ room. The B-gate is the entry/exit point for the women’s barracks. A committee headed by former IAS officer Vinay Kumar is probing the allegations, and the truth will come out very soon.”
The unidentified official further said that around three advocates had been waiting for Sasikala and Ilavarasi. “Prison police communicated with each other, and when the lobby was clear, the police directed Sasikala to walk towards the room,” the official said. “They both had court papers and related documents in the plastic hand bags they were carrying.”
D Roopa’s prison report
On Julu 13, D Roopa had submitted a prison report claiming that the AIADMK chief had paid Rs 2 crore in bribes to senior police officers for preferential treatment at the Bengaluru central jail. Director General (Prisons) HS Sathyanarayana Rao was accused of providing Sasikala special facilities such as deputing inmates to cook food for her in a special kitchen set up for her.
The Karnataka government had directed the ACB to investigate the claims. On July 19, Roopa was transferred to the traffic and safety wing. The chief superintendent of the jail, Krishna Kumar, was also transferred after Roopa submitted her report.
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