Already facing heat, Sukesh under scanner yet again

When contacted, DG (Prisons) Sandeep Goel told The Indian Express that a few days ago, it was noticed on CCTV cameras that a nursing orderly, who is a contractual staffer, was seen taking some papers from Sukesh. “Sukesh is lodged in Jail number 3, and after enquiry, we came to know that it was a letter. We have now written to the Delhi Police,” he said.

Sources in Tihar jail said Sukesh had gone on a hunger strike a few days ago, demanding that he be allowed to see his wife Leena Maria Paul, who is also lodged in Tihar jail, more often. “He had stopped eating food and was on intravenous fluid or glucose. He was in the medical inspection room of jail dispensary when he gave a letter to a nursing orderly,” jail sources said.

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 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 being lodged in jail.

Police have found in their investigation that Sukesh paid around Rs 25-30 crore to jail staff to secure an entire barrack for himself. In a letter to DG (Tihar) Sandeep Goel on January 10 this year, then DCP (EOW) Mohammad Ali said a case, dated August 7, 2021, had been registered under sections of the IPC, IT Act and MCOCA at the Special Cell police station on the complaint of Aditi Singh.

“During investigation conducted so far, seven jail officials — two jail superintendents Sunil Kumar, Sunder Bora; deputy jail superintendents Prakash Chand, Mahender Prasad Sundriyal, Subhash Batra; and two assistant superintendents Dharam Singh Meena and Lakshmi Dutt — have been arrested in the case as they were found involved in facilitating the organised crime syndicate run by kingpin Sukesh, operating from barrack no 204, ward no 3, jail no 10 in Rohini,” DCP Ali wrote.

Ali said CCTV footage from 10 cameras installed in the Rohini jail for the period July 14 to August 14, 2021 was collected and these covered Ward No. 3 and Barrack No. 204 where Sukesh was lodged. “It was found that the vision of CCTV cameras installed in the barrack of Sukesh was completely blocked by using curtains and putting mineral water bottles in front of the camera. No action was taken to remove the object from the view of camera and for this facilitation, jail officials got a hefty amount out of the crime proceeds from Sukesh and his associates,” Ali wrote.