AIADMK General Secretary and convict VK Sasikala Natarajan was on Wednesday accused of bribing Karnataka Director General of Prisons (DGP) Satyanarayana Rao and city central jail officials for undue favours.
"Sasikala has given Rs 1 crore bribe to Rao and another Rs 1 crore was distributed among officials, including warden of the central jail where she is serving 4-year sentence in an illegal wealth case for allowing her special privileges," a report submitted by the Deputy Inspector of Prisons (DIG) Roopa Moudgil to the state government says.
While Roopa was not reachable to confirm the bribery and other charges, Rao, however, denied them and accused Roopa of gross sub-ordination.
"I have served a memo to her (Roopa) seeking explanation and evidence to prove her wild allegations. She has not given any report to me or the government against me or other jail officials," Rao told IANS.
In a sensational revelation, Roopa said 59-year-old Sasikala was getting royal treatment in the women's cell where she has been lodged since February 15 to serve her sentence.
Co-convicts, Sasikala's sister-in-law Elavarasi and nephew VK Sudhakaran were also held guilty by a trial court in September 2014 and upheld by the Supreme Court on February 14 in the two-decade-old disproportionate assets case of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa.
"As a reward for bribing the prison authorities from Rao to jail warden, Sasikala gets special menu daily, cooked by special chefs in a special kitchen near the women's cell," Roopa has mentioned in the report.
The 2000 batch IPS officer is the first woman in the southern state to have been recently (June 23) appointed DIG of the prisons department.
Alleging massive irregularities and rampant corruption in the central jail on the city's southern outskirts, Roopa said drugs were being distributed to the inmates through various means and select prisoners were given special facilities.
"At least 18 of the 25 prisoners who were tested for taking drugs reported positive. From DGP to jail warden, all are involved in flouting the prison manual," alleged Roopa in the report.
"Since such grave allegations and rumours are doing the rounds and even cast aspersions at you, I urge you to take heed of this and take strict action against any jail staff or officials or others who are involved," her letter concluded.
Refuting the charges, DGP Satyanarayana Rao questioned how the DIG prisons found out about the alleged corruption within three weeks of joining the department.
"What and how she could know of things that might or might not have happened months ago, as per her reported being quoted by media?" he asked.
"I have asked her to meet me on Friday and hand over the so-called report from which a news channel is airing her views. Where was she when Chief Minister Siddaramaiah held a review meeting here on Monday? Ask her?" quipped Rao.
Reacting to the development, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, "We have taken serious cognizance of the allegation of irregularities in Bengaluru Central Prison & ordered a high level inquiry. Request all to await the outcome of this inquiry. Strict action will be taken against any person found guilty of wrongdoing."
We have taken serious cognizance of the allegation of irregularities in Bengaluru Central Prison & ordered a high level inquiry. 1/2
— CM of Karnataka (@CMofKarnataka) July 13, 2017
(With inputs from IANS)