Sasikala given VIP treatment in Bengaluru prison, claims report

Bengaluru, Jan 20 (IANS) AIADMK's jailed leader V.K. Sasikala had received preferential treatment in Bengaluru Central Jail, including specially cooked food and access to special cells, a probe report revealed.

"Through the evidence, we get a clear indication of some food cooking activity in the group of five cells made available to Sasikala," noted the report of inquiry panel led by retired IAS Vinay Kumar.

Though the report was allegedly submitted to the Karnataka government in 2017, its findings were made public only now.

Karnataka's woman Indian Police Service (IPS) officer D. Roopa Moudgil, then Deputy Inspector General (DIG) (Prisons), through a report in 2017 first exposed the favours and alleged that special treatment was given to Sasikala in Bengaluru central prison.

Sasikala is serving a four-year sentence since February 2017 after the Supreme Court upheld her conviction in a corruption case by a trial court in Bengaluru in September 2015.

"My report was not accepted by the government, and instead I was transferred from the post. The independent inquiry panel's report, led by Vinay Kumar, is in line with my findings," Moudgil told IANS here.

"I stand vindicated as the panel's report also says there were serious lapses," she said.

After submitting her report, Moudgil was transferred by then Congress-led state government as the DIG Commissioner for Traffic and Road Safety, Bengaluru.

Class-A facilities were given to Sasikala, indicating "lapses", the independent probe report noted.

Questioned about the report, Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara refused to comment on the issue, saying he was "not aware".