Fake stamp paper scamster writes to President Kalam

My life is like a bubble on water and it will burst any day. It is my humble request to you that please direct the Superintendent of Yerwada Central Jail to remove me from solitary confinement, allow me to move, mix, mingle, talk, share company with co-prisoners and all my relatives.The prime accused in the multi-crore fake stamp paper case, Abdul Karim Telgi, has requested the President to unite him with his family and save him from ‘‘the violation of his fundamental rights’’ at Yerwada jail, Pune. Telgi who is HIV positive and says he is suffering from heart diseases, severe diabetes and partial deafness, has sought Kalam’s ‘‘kind consideration and sympathetic action’’ in a letter dated March 28, received by the prison administration, but still waiting to be sent to the President. ‘‘I have been lodged in an anda cell and have been illegally and unlawfully kept in solitary confinement… Prohibiting me from moving, mixing, mingling, talking and sharing company with co-prisoners is a gross violation of the fundamental rights to life and personal liberty guaranteed under the Articles of the Constitution of India,’’ Telgi writes. Referring to observations by the Supreme Court in a matter involving the infamous Charles Sobhraj, Telgi’s lawyer Jaideep Thakker said: ‘‘As per the SC order, nobody can be kept in solitary confinement. Not even a criminal who has been sentenced to death.’’

Yerwada jail superintendent R.T. Dhamne is reportedly on ‘‘holiday’’. However, jailor Ashok Karkar said Telgi was kept in solitary confinement for ‘‘security reasons’’. ‘‘His life is under threat and if anything happens to him, we will be held responsible,’’ Karkar said.