‘Jain not receiving food in line with religious beliefs’
NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) minister Satyendar Jain, currently lodged in Tihar jail in connection with a money laundering case, on Monday moved a Delhi court, seeking directions to the director general (prisons) and the Tihar superintendent to provide him food in line with his religious beliefs, and to provide him access to medical facilities in the prison.
The application said that the minister is a strict adherent of Jainism, and for the last six months, he has been fed only fruits, vegetables, seeds and dry fruits/dates. Jain’s counsel said that his client has not been able to visit a Jain temple and hence, he has been on a religious fast and is not having cooked food, pulses, grains and milk products.
“…Jain is on religious fast for the last six months because he was relying on consumption of uncooked fruits/vegetables, mixed seeds, dry fruits and dates in the jail. The jail administration has stopped providing him with fruits/vegetables, mixed seeds, dry fruits and dates against the principle of sustenance and survival of the cabinet minister. He is being starved by jail authorities and not being given sustenance or nutrition to even sustain his well-being,” the plea said.
A Tihar prison officer, who asked not to be named, said, “Jain has not been deprived of any right that other prisoners have under the jail manual.”
The plea comes days after a video of Jain was circulated on social media, showing him receiving a massage from an inmate in his cell inside Tihar jail, sparking a sharp offensive from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) amid allegations that he was being given special treatment in prison.
The AAP has denied those claims. In his plea, Jain has claimed that he has lost 28kg since his arrest on May 31, including 2kg in the last week.
Additionally, Jain has sought directions to the DG (prisons) and Tihar superintendent to “immediately conduct a medical check-up” on the minister.