Manish Sisodia’s day 1 in jail: Three blankets, a soap, and gangsters for neighbours

Tihar jail officials said jail number 1 is the oldest on the Tihar premises. The former Deputy CM will not be sharing the cell with anyone and is lodged in ward number 9. Also in jail number 1 are Sunil Maan alias Tillu, leader of the dreaded Tillu gang; gangster Nasir; and Yogesh alias Tunda, a sharpshooter for the infamous Gogi gang.

Sisodia was taken to the jail in the afternoon. “He first underwent a few medical tests. The in-house doctors said he is healthy, and his reports were then sent to the Jail Superintendent, who decided which cell and ward he should reside in,” said an official.

Around 6.30–7.30 pm, Sisodia was taken for dinner where he had rotis, rice, daal and aloo-matar sabji, said officials. While coming to jail, he did not carry any belongings, with jail officials saying his family or friends will come later with his personal clothing and items.

“Since he is an undertrial prisoner, he can have personal clothes as per his convenience and needs. It’s allowed in the jail manual. For the first night, he will be provided with extra clothing from prison. He can use it if he wants. We have also sent a soap, one bedsheet, three blankets and other essential needs,” said an official.

In the court during the day, Special Judge M K Nagpal had accepted Sisodia’s request to carry a copy of the Bhagavad Gita, his spectacles, a diary and a pen. The judge had also asked the jail superintendent to consider his request to be lodged inside a “vipassana (meditation) cell”.

As of now, none of the requests have been approved by the jail authorities. “He didn’t get any personal pen, diary or book. He will be provided with all the stationery on Tuesday or over the weekend. If he wants a particular book, we will issue it. There’s no special meditation cell. Anyway, he can’t be put in a special cell now. This is only his first day and rules are equal for all. He can participate in yoga and all other meditation activities which are conducted for all inmates,” said an official.

While Sisodia is in jail number 1, AAP’s Satyendar Jain is lodged in jail number 7 of Tihar, which is comparatively less crowded.