A fresh challenge for Tihar prison staff: Keeping conman Sukesh safe
NEW DELHI: A constable of the Tamil Nadu Special Police (TSP) Force stands guard outside a cell in Tihar prison’s jail number 1. He isn’t a part of the prison’s internal security set-up and doesn’t report to any of its officers. Wearing a body camera, he guards just one prisoner, who’s also monitored by two security cameras around the clock. The constable has one job — making sure that alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar is safe.
Tihar jail officers have put in place several new measures to ensure Chandrashekhar’s safety, and to make it impossible for him to level false allegations of assault to get himself transferred.
The 33-year-old had earlier filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a transfer from Tihar because of the threat to his life. The Centre, Enforcement Directorate (ED) and jail authorities have objected to shifting him out from Tihar. The Supreme Court will hear the matter on June 30.
That explains the Tamil Nadu Special Police constable.
It explains the armed prison guards who escort Chandrashekhar when he leaves the cell to meet his legal counsel or make phone calls.
It explains the separate team of prison officers that virtually monitors his movements through the CCTV cameras.
And it explains why prison doctors monitor his blood pressure and other vitals daily, ensuring to keep records in case they have to be produced before court later.
It is an anomaly for a single prisoner to have a dedicated guard outside his/her cell. Tihar is vastly overcrowded, with around 20,000 inmates against a sanctioned strength of 10,026, but has just around 2,300 staff, which works out to around one worker for every eight prisoners. And, importantly, not all of these 2,300 are prison guards — the number includes hospital staff, officers, clerks, and desk officers.
Senior prison officers who asked not to be named said the alleged conman’s security is high on their priority, especially in the context of Chandrashekhar’s plea in the Supreme Court. He alleged he was assaulted by prison guards but jail authorities deny this.
The prison’s director general, Sandeep Goel in an affidavit last week informed the court that there was no threat to Chandrashekhar’s life. The prison chief said Chandrashekhar was seeking a transfer from Tihar to continue with his illegal activities, which have been curbed in the jail.
ED in its application to court said Chandrashekhar was making excuses about the threats and that Tihar officers ensured to thwart any future possibility of Chandrashekhar misusing jail facilities. The Centre on Thursday offered to shift him to Mandoli jail but underlined there was no need to move him at all.
Prison officers who spoke on condition of anonymity said the threat against Chandrashekhar is from within the system.
“The people who are co-accused in his case are very influential former jail officers, who ran the prison all these years. Until their arrest they were seasoned jailors. After their arrest, not only were their careers cut short but they are also facing criminal charges and are lodged in the same prison complex,” said a prison officer.
At least two former superintendents, two deputy superintendents and several other warders and assistant superintendents have been arrested in the case. Delhi Police are still probing the role of many prison employees who are yet to be arrested, charged or named in the case.
The case itself involves the attempt to extort ₹200 crore from industrialist Shivinder Mohan’s wife by posing as a senior government officer. The police investigating the case have mentioned in their case files that the suspended jail officers were paid a monthly bribe of up to ₹50 lakh for helping Chandrashekhar in jail.
This is the first case in the jail’s recent history in which so many senior jail officers were arrested and are now lodged as prisoners.
A second prison officer said while most officers would want Chandrashekhar transferred out of Delhi, this would still be embarrassing for the prison department.
“Only last year, the former promoters of Unitech were transferred out of Tihar because they were misusing facilities by bribing jail officers. Tihar is supposed to be the safest and the strictest jail complex across the country. If a prisoner is unsafe in Tihar then where would he/she be safe anywhere in the country?”
The officers are also protecting Chandrashekhar from himself.
In April and May, he was on a hunger strike for at least 17 days demanding more visiting hours with his wife.
“He had to be put on Iv/fluid glucose (intravenous). We started maintaining a log of his vitals. The report was sent to the prison headquarters every day. The medical report did confirm he was not eating. It was a scary time. It is difficult to handle such a prisoner,” a third prison officer said.
Chandrashekhar’s counsel, advocate Anant Malik, said, “While being granted security and protection, he is still lodged at the place where he has allegedly committed the offence. This is an unnatural conflict. The natural consequence of this is a threat to his life and personal liberties. As 81 Tihar prison officials are still under investigation for allegedly taking bribes from Chandrashekhar, he is being targeted and discriminated upon.”