Lokayukta court issues non-bailable warrant against VK Sasikala

A Lokayukta special court in Bengaluru has issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against VK Sasikala, a confidante of the late Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa.

This action was taken after she failed to appear before the court for a hearing in a case regarding the alleged “VIP treatment” she received during her incarceration at a prison in Bengaluru. Sasikala, who was convicted in a disproportionate asset case in 2017, was lodged at the Parappana Agrahara central prison in the city.

The court also issued an NBW for another accused, Ilavarasi, who is Sasikala’s sister-in-law. Two individuals who had provided sureties for the former AIADMK leader were also issued notices before the court adjourned the hearing on September 4.

Sasikala and Ilavarasi were convicted by a special court in the disproportionate assets case involving Jayalalithaa and them. They spent four years in the central prison. It was alleged that Sasikala received VIP treatment at the Parappana Agrahara central prison and was accused of bribing prison officials to obtain these privileges and special treatment not accorded to other convicts.

Former DIG (Prisons) D Roopa had also alleged that an exchange of ₹2 crore had taken place between prison officials and Sasikala for the same purpose. According to a report submitted by Roopa in February 2022, a whole corridor comprising five cells had been set aside for the private use of Sasikala and Ilavarasi.

The report stated that the authorized capacity of the female barracks, with 28 cells, was 100 prisoners. This meant that an average of four prisoners were to be lodged in each cell. The report alleged that when five cells are taken away for two prisoners, the allocation of prisoners in the remaining 23 cells would be much higher than the authorized level.

In 2018, the Karnataka government ordered an inquiry into the alleged special treatment given to Sasikala. The inquiry sought to probe the role of senior officials at the Bengaluru central prison in the alleged special treatment case.

The high-level inquiry, led by retired IAS officer Vinay Kumar, into allegations of irregularities at the Bengaluru Central Prison, found “serious lapses” and “falsification of records” on the part of senior prison officials in extending special treatment to Sasikala.

Considering the photographs provided by Roopa of a pressure cooker and vessels in the cells, alleging that a separate kitchen was made available to Sasikala, the committee examined the then-jail superintendent and others. They maintained that there was no cooking activity and that the cooker was used to store jail food. However, the committee concluded that the pressure cooker was primarily used for cooking food rather than for storage.

Based on the report in February 2022, a charge sheet was filed in connection with the case.

In May this year, the high court of Karnataka quashed the case against three prison officers who were accused along with Sasikala, Krishna Kumar, the then chief jail superintendent; Dr Anitha, then assistant superintendent of prisons; and Gajaraja Makanur, then police sub-inspector.”