New Delhi, Sept 12: Cash for votes accused politician, Amar Singh who is currently lodged in the Tihar jail for corruption charges, has been tagged as ‘VIP prisoner’ in the jail.
55-year-old Amar has been described by Tihar officials as “very demanding” and also adamant.
Citing ‘poor health’, Amar also secured special concessions with his persuasive skills from the jail authorities. Though, the jailed politician’s medical records are normal and will be submitted in the court on Monday, Sept 12.
Amar has also been called as someone “hard to deal with”, who tells the jail authorities every other day that he will be out of the jail in 24 hours.
“He has been placed in a ward and not in the barracks as he has ordered by the court. In fact, we even provided him with two cell mates who scrub the floor and keep his cell clean. The floor is wiped four to five times a day with disinfectant and insecticide is sprayed regularly to ensure that mosquitoes are at bay. His two cell mates are not allowed to use the bathroom of his cell. All this has been done keeping in mind his health,” said a senior officer in Tihar.
Amar Singh is also allowed home cooked food keeping in mind his kidney problems.
“He has been receiving home-cooked meals for the past two days as he claimed that he had chronic kidney problems. He can avail anything from the canteen as well. This is a special concession and we have even offered him a European toilet that can be installed in a matter on request. This has been done because he claimed to have a urinary tract infection,” said a senior Tihar official.
Amar Singh also created a scene for not being given permission to make phone calls to his wife, said a official.
“He wanted to call home, but he had not provided us with a copy of the postpaid bill of the number he wanted to call. According to the jail manual, inmates can only make a phone call on postpaid numbers after producing a valid bill which has to first be verified. We explained the procedure, but he was adamant. However, we could not allow him to make the phone call,” said the official.
Singh, who is used to luxury, has been complaining about the heat. There is a lone fan in his cell. Singh has also been allowed to meet a steady stream of visitors who arrive every day. As per jail rules, inmates are only allowed two visits per week, but Singh has been meeting visitors every day, including his wife Pankaja, his younger brother as well as actor-turned-politician Jaya Prada.
“There are many MPs and MLAs who come to meet Amar Singh daily. In fact we have to keep turning visitors away,” said a Tihar official.
Meanwhile, he also spends his days strolling around near his ward and also talks to Madhu Koda and other accused in the 2G scam.
“He is very friendly with them and talks to them all the time. He also loudly proclaims to jail authorities and other inmates that he will be leaving jail the next day. Jail authorities have been finding it very difficult to deal with him, unlike other high-profile prisoners. Initially, he refused to give his blood and other samples to jail doctors due to which his medical reports have been delayed. Singh has not been cooperating much despite the fact that we have put him on round-the-clock medical support, allowed him his special medications and placed him in a jail closest to the hospital. We have even kept an ambulance on standby,” said an official.
Singh was jailed over bribing MPs in the cash for votes scam .
