Late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s aide VK Sasikala, serving a four year-term in a corruption case, may be released from jail next January provided she paid the fine amount of Rs 10 crore, the Karnataka Prison Department has said.
VK Sasikala
Chennai:
However, AMMK leaders cried foul and claimed that a conspiracy was hatched by vested interests in delaying the release of their leader from the Bengaluru prison.
Sasikala, lodged at the Parappana Agrahara Prison, was convicted and sentenced in February 2017 in the Rs 66 crore disporportionate assets case. “As per prison records, convict prisoner number 9234 Sasikala’s ‘probable date of release’ is January 27, 2021, provided in-default fine amount is paid as awarded by the honourable court,” Superintendent of Central Prison at Parappana Agrahara, R Latha said in response to an RTI query by activist T Narasimha Murthy on September 11.
Latha added Sasikala’s “probable date of release” would be February 27, 2022 if the fine was not paid. The officer explained the probable date of release may vary if Sasikala utilises a parole facility. She will have to pay Rs 10 crore to walk out of prison on January 27, 2021, else spend another 13 months behind bars.
A source close to Sasikala told DT Next, “Details of the usual concessions given for a prisoner is missing from the RTI information and we suspect that there could be a political ploy against our leader by the BJP,” adding, “Prison authorities usually don’t encourage RTI petitions, but in this case, there was a clear stage by stage reply stating that if the leader fails to pay the fine imposed by the court the release would be delayed by another one year.”
Conversations