Chennai/Vellore, April 20: Officials of the Special Prison for Women in Vellore on Tuesday recovered an active mobile phone from a toilet in the cell of Nalini Sriharan, undergoing a life sentence in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

Sources said jail superintendent R. Rajalakshmi and other officials were conducting a surprise check inside Nalini’s cell at around 6.20 am when she threw the mobile phone into the toilet. “She also flushed it with a bucket of water,” said the source.
“Later prison staff fished out the phone from the sewage junction box.”
“We will take action against Nalini for violating prison rules,” said additional director-general of prisons K.R. Shyam Sundar.
Prison officials may file a case against Nalini. This might adversely affect her appeal for premature release. Nalini’s counsel P. Pugalenthi said the entire episode was a “drama” to strengthen the case against her premature release.
 

V.P. Raghu and Shanmugha Sundaram