Journalism of Courage
The prison administration on Thursday night shifted alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar and his wife Leena Poulose from Tihar jail to Mandoli jail, DG (prisons) Sandeep Goel said. Hours later, the prison administration decided to reshuffle the staffers at Mandoli jail and are sending around 20 staffers from Tihar jail to replace them, sources said.
The jail administration shifted the duo days after the Supreme Court’s direction in this regard. A bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia had ordered the same on a plea by Chandrashekhar who had approached the court citing a threat to life. The court, however, refused to accede to his request to be transferred to a prison outside Delhi. The bench took into consideration an affidavit filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) which opposed his request saying that it was “only to carry out his nefarious activities from there as he was finding it difficult to carry out the same from Tihar”.
Sources said Chandrashekhar has been lodged in cell no. 1 of jail no. 14 in Mandoli and the jail administration has removed all the inmates from his cell to another. His wife Leena has been lodged in jail no. 16. “Cell no. 1 is covered by CCTV cameras with a 360-degree view and we have also removed all dreaded criminals from his cell, so no one creates any problem for him. We are also deploying the jail staff, those who have a commendable track record, to monitor him,” jail sources said, adding that all the jail staffers have been directed to maintain distance from Chandrashekhar and not to fall into his trap if he lures them with offers.
Earlier, the Delhi Police had booked 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 in jail.
The police had claimed that Chandrashekhar paid around Rs 25-30 crore to jail staff to secure an entire barrack for himself. 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, the police said. “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 had written in a 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.
