Sasikala in Bengaluru jail: From ‘meditation to having tamarind rice’, here’s how she spent her first night in prison cell

Bengaluru: Tamil Nadu’s ruling AIADMK general secretary VK Sasikala, who was lodged in the Bengaluru Jail on Wednesday following her conviction in the disproportionate assets case by the Supreme Court, spent her first night as an ordinary prisoner in her cell.
According to News18.com, Sasikala, who is prisoner number 9234, slept on the cement floor on her first night in the Bengaluru jail.
No VIP treatment is being given to the 61-year-old AIADMK chief as the prison authorities have denied all the facilities she had requested. She has been provided with just a fan, a pillow, a blanket and a bedsheet in Parappana Agrahara Central Jail.
She was also issued three saris and blouses on entering prison. Sasikala will have to make candles or incense sticks during her stay in prison and will be paid Rs 50 a day for her labour. She won’t get any day off.
She began a four-year prison term yesterday after being convicted of corruption by the Supreme Court.
It has emerged that Sasikala is sharing her cell with sister-in-law Elavarasi, but there is no confirmation regarding the same as yet.
A decision on providing her a cot to sleep on will reportedly be taken by doctors today.
This morning, Sasikala had tamarind rice with chutney from the breakfast menu, the officials said.
She also “meditated for a few minutes”.
Moments after walking into the Parappana Agrahara Central Jail in a rust sari last evening, Sasikala had asked a judge for a Class 1 cell citing health problems like diabetes.
Such a cell comes with privileges like a private television, home-cooked food and non-vegetarian meals twice a week. The request was denied. She had also asked for space to meditate and round-the-clock medical help if needed.
Sasikala had spent three weeks in the same prison in 2014 along with former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, after both were held guilty of making a fortune beyond their known sources of income in the 1990s.
Before going to jail, Sasikala took some vital decisions in Chennai to secure her grip over the ruling party. She picked loyalist E Palaniswamy as Chief Ministerial candidate and brought back two nephews who had been expelled by Jayalalithaa in 2011.
Prison sources said that Sasikala is keen to know about latest political developments in Chennai, where Governor C Vidyasagar Rao may soon announce his decision on Chief Minister. Her lawyers may again press for a TV for her.