Kejriwal to get home food, books in Tihar
■ First CM to be behind bars ■ 4 guards placed outside cell for 24/7 watch
Amid tight security, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was brought to the Tihar Jail complex on Monday after a city court sent him to judicial custody till April 15.
While the AAP supremo was being taken to the high-security prison, scores of AAP workers staged a protest outside the prison complex.
Incidentally, Mr Kejriwal has now become the first sitting chief minister to be behind bars, from where he is likely to run his Cabinet.
After a medical examination, he was brought to the Tihar complex in the evening and was lodged in jail no. 2 where he will be kept in a separate cell, a jail official said.
AAP leader Sanjay Singh, who was arrested in October last year in the same case, was earlier lodged in jail no. 2 but was shifted to jail no. 5 recently. Another AAP leader, Satyendar Jain, is lodged in jail no. 7.
While Mr Kejriwal’s former deputy, Manish Sisodia, who is in jail in connection with the same case, is lodged in jail no. 1, BRS leader K. Kavitha is in jail no. 6 of the women’s jail.
Jailed CM’s lawyers have also moved an application seeking permission for him to read three books in the jail. The AAP convenor has also sought permission to keep a religious locket and special diet.
According to sources, he will be permitted to meet his government officials regarding the work as per names approved and submitted in the court.
The court has allowed Mr Kejriwal to carry Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, and How Prime Ministers Decide by journalist Neerja Chowdhury while in judicial custody.
It also allows his request for home cooked meal (since he suffers from diabetes) and to bring his own mattress, pillows and quilt.
Mr Kejriwal has given a list of six people whom he would like to meet as per rules. The list includes his wife Sunita Kejriwal, their son and daughter, his private secretary Bibhav Kumar and AAP general secretary (organisation) Sandeep Pathak.
Doctors and medical staff will be available for him 24/7 in case of an emergency. Further, four prison guards will also be stationed round the clock outside his cell.
Meanwhile, former Tihar jail PRO Sunil Kumar Gupta said it would be extremely challenging for him to run the government from behind bars.