Pampered in prison

‘‘I have been getting reports of mukhiyas and zilla parishad members asking for special status. They are public nominees, so they think they are entitled to special privileges and have more say than ordinary prisoners,’’ says State Minister for Jail Ashok Choudhary. ‘‘They want to act like MLAs and get special treatment like them.’’

According to jail superintendents, the panchayat representatives have even mobilised support for themselves within the prison walls. ‘‘They always have a group of people around them to carry out their orders. They have started asserting themselves,’’ says Sanjeev Kumar, jailer at Nawada Jail where a number of panchayat representatives are lodged.

A mukhiya, Akhilesh Singh, was recently transferred from Nawada Jail after he was reportedly found creating trouble within the jail. He had also been asking for special status, say jail authorities. They point out that there is nothing in the jail manual that says panchayat representatives should be accorded special status. Even MLAs lodged in jails get special status only on the orders of the state government.

A number of mukhiyas elected last year are currently in jail for committing a variety of offences. Last month, a Mukhiya from Baijani, Diwaker Sao, was charged with the killing of a petty thief. In July, a mukhiya of Latta panchayat was arrested for forcibly freeing a Ranvir Sena leader from police custody.

Panchayat elections in the state were held last year after a gap of 22 years on the orders of the Patna High Court.