Jailhouse comfort: Raju can cook own food,leave court early

When Raju attends the day-long sessions at the trial court,jail authorities will serve him lunch in the court premises. And if he wishes to leave early from court,citing health grounds,a special escort team will take him back to prison in a separate vehicle.

Raju is lodged in the same cell in the special barracks where he spent a couple of months after he was arrested on January 9 last year. Much of his first stint was,however,spent at the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences.

Raju is also learnt to have financed repair work of a badminton court in the barracks where he often plays.

Raju was granted permission to cook his own food following a request by his counsel to the trial court last July.

“They cook their own food including breakfast. They have their own utensils and other kitchen stuff. They pay for the vegetables and dry rations which we buy for them if they ask,” said Chanchalguda Jail Superintendent K Umapathi.

Last week,citing health grounds,Raju sought and was granted permission by the court to go back to prison at 1 pm while the other accused remained in court. This created a problem for the jail escort team,which had to return to court to escort the others back in the evening.

Knowing that this may become a daily affair,XXI Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate B V L N Chakravarthy sought to know from the jail transport officer if it was possible to make two trips daily between jail and court — once to bring and take back Raju and the second time to escort the other accused.

Umapathi said the escort team which now takes all the Satyam accused to court in one bus will be split into two,with one team assigned specially for Raju.

Moreover,the prison vehicle also has to make an extra trip to bring lunch for Raju in the court premises.