Vanzara-Pandey rift thaws, bonhomie brews in jail

Vanzara is known to be health-conscious and is a regular walker and reader inside the jail, say jail officials. He seems to have inspired Pandey to stay fit. Pandey, who had been absconding for 90 days during the CBI investigations of Ishrat Jahan encounter case, had claimed to be very ill, appearing before the CBI court wheelchair-bound.

According to jail officials, Pandey used to be unwell quite often. He had to be taken to Ahmedabad Civil Hospital 42 times in the last 16 months in the jail. Pandey is believed to have several health disorders – diabetes, blood pressure,vision problems and Cervical spondylosis ifor which he has been getting treatment inside the jail premises.

Pandey, who has always been a reserved officer, would speak very little to his colleagues during his service days. He had become more reclusive after his arrest. His colleagues in CID (Crime), where he was last posted as additional DGP, still recall that Pandey used to be visibly disturbed days before his arrest. Prisons authorities say that Pandey did not even talk to Vanzara whose cell was adjacent to the former’s cell, separated by just a wall.

Moreover, a month after his custody, Pandey had blown Vanzara’s cover and blamed him for hatching the plot to kill Ishrat Jahan and three other men, who were termed as terrorists. Pandey had told the CBI that Vanzara had informed him about the intelligence input on the four suspects much before it was generated from the Intelligence Bureau.

However, over time, the “wall” between the colleagues seems to have broken down. Pandey started mingling with prison officials and even started striking conversations with fellow inmates during lunch hours. Eye-witnesses also say that the top cop has lost around 10 kg and is reported to be fitter than before. Pandey is more active and excited about the day-to-day routine inside jail, books, prison events and more.

A jailor, who supervises their yard, on conditions of anonymity, said, “Pandey and Vanzara even avoided speaking to each other in the initial few months of Pandey’s judicial custody. Vanzara was as usual engaged in his fitness and reading habits, but there was always something brewing inside Pandey. We could see him upset and broken and several times he refused meals. His disappointment was spoiling his health.”

However, prison authorities stated that now Pandey talks freely and has become more conscious of his health. Known to be a religious man, Pandey also spends time praying and reading books in the prison library. Unlike Vanzara, however, Pandey was never inclined to take up any of the distance-learning courses offered in prison. Both officers happen to have majored in Political Science in college.

Pandey has also been spotted writing and may come out with a book of his own, like Vanzara, who has already released three books of poems from inside the jail – Sinh Garjana I & II and Rantankar.

Superintendent of Jails, R S Bhagora, said, “We have always tried to provide an atmosphere in the Sabarmati Central Jail that is conducive to all prisoners, irrespective of charges against them, to help them stay mentally and physically fit and get them engaged in prison activities that can change their mindset and bring them closer to each other. Every prisoner goes through some change here.”