Sukesh Chandrashekhar (File)To meet his wife more than twice per month as mandated in the jail manual, alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar went on a hunger strike again, demanding that he be allowed to see his wife Leena Maria Paul, who is also lodged in Tihar jail, more often. Chandrashekhar has stopped eating food since May 23 and is on intravenous fluid or glucose.
Director General (Prisons) Sandeep Goel told The Indian Express that Chandrashekhar, an undertrial prisoner, first did not eat food from April 23 to May 2 and then again from May 4 to May 12. “During this period, he was put on intravenous fluid or glucose in the jail dispensary in Jail No 1. From May 12 to May 22, he started taking liquid diet, but from May 23 till date, he is not taking any food and he is on intravenous fluid or glucose,” Goel said.
Goel said they have also shifted Chandrashekhar from Jail No 1 to Jail No 3 on June 9 and currently, he has been admitted in the Central Jail Hospital, situated within Jail No 3. “Appropriate jail punishments have been made against him for this misconduct,” he added.
“Chandrashekhar’s demand was to arrange a meeting with his wife who is lodged in Jail No 6, Tihar jail. In this connection, he is already being allowed inter-jail mulaqat (meeting) with his wife twice a month – on every first and third Saturday of the month, as allowed to other inmates. But he wanted extra meetings in addition to these, which was not allowed,” he said.
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Earlier, the Delhi Police had asked the jail administration to allow it to probe 82 officials and staff of Rohini jail under the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act after eight officials were arrested for allegedly helping Chandrashekhar extort Rs 200 crore from former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Singh’s wife Aditi Singh while in jail.
Police had claimed that Chandrashekhar paid around Rs 25-30 crore to jail staff to secure an entire barrack for himself.
Police said CCTV footage from 10 cameras installed in Rohini jail from July 14 to August 14, 2021, was collected and these covered Ward No 3 and Barrack No 204, where Chandrashekhar was previously lodged. “It was found that the CCTVs in Chandrashekhar’s barrack were completely blocked by curtains and a mineral water bottle box placed in front of the camera,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Mohammad Ali wrote in his letter, asking Tihar Jail to grant approval under Section 17 (A) of PC Act to conduct an inquiry or investigation against officials of Rohini Jail No 10.
“No action was taken to remove the object from the view of the camera. For this facilitation, jail officials got a hefty amount out of the crime proceeds from Chandrashekhar and his associates. Entries made in the CCTV register by warder Neeraj Maan, deployed at the CCTV control room at Rohini jail, in this regard were not only ignored but Maan was also put under pressure and discouraged from making such entries by senior jail officials. This clearly established that the staff, including senior officers in Rohini Jail No 10, connived with Chandrashekhar and helped him carry out his criminal activities from inside, making it a haven for Chandrashekhar,” DCP Ali said.
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