Did Bengaluru jail officials allowed Sasikala a day out of prison?

Days after a top police official submitted a report to higher authorities claiming that AIADMK interim general secretary VK Sasikala was getting VIP treatment at the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison in Bengaluru, a video has emerged showing her walking in to the prison from the main entrance.

The video shows Sasikala and her relative Ilavarasi, both of whom have been convicted by the Supreme Court in a disproportionate assets case, walking into the main entry area of the high-security jail in civil clothes.

The CCTV video raises questions whether Sasikala and Ilavarasi were allowed to walk out of the prison by jail officials. The video has now been handed over to the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Karnataka police for further investigation.

Former DIG of Prisons D Roopa, who blew the lid off the special treatment meted out to prisoners including Sasikala, has submitted the footage taken from the CCTV recording of the central prison complex, as part of her statement to the ACB.

The fresh evidence raises suspicion on whether the two convicts went out of the prison in connivance with top prison officials.

'SASIKALA PAID RS 2 CRORE TO JAIL OFFICIALS'

In July, Roopa had submitted a report to DGP (Prisons) Sathyanarayana Rao alleging that there were 'talks' that Rs 2 crore exchanging hands to give 'preferential treatment' including an exclusive kitchen and other perks to Sasikala.

Roopa's report had alleged that the bribe was paid to Rao, who rubbished the charge while the state government on July 13 ordered a high-level probe into the allegations.

In her four-page report after visiting the central prison on July 10, Roopa had said a special kitchen was functioning in the jail here for Sasikala, a convict in a corruption case, in violation of the rules.

Roopa was later transferred.

Sasikala has been lodged at the Parappana Agrahara central jail in Bengaluru since her conviction in February in a disproportionate assets case along with her two relatives, VN Sudhakaran and Elavarasi, all serving a four-year jail term.