Night in a 10 ft by 15 ft cell with a rolled up blanket as a pillow, chatting with other Tamil inmates, a spartan breakfast of bread and tea and some Tamil newspapers — DMK MP Kanimozhi's first day behind bars at the Tihar jail here was a far cry from the luxuries she is accustomed to.
The Rajya Sabha member and DMK chief M. Karunanidhi's daughter spent her night in ward 8, the women's ward of jail number six at Tihar, officials said on Saturday. Arrested after being denied bail by the special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in the 2G spectrum scam, Kanimozhi, 43, was brought to Tihar around 4.30 PM on Friday. A few DMK MPs and her husband G. Aravinthan came to meet Kanimozhi on Friday evening.
According to jail sources, a blanket was allowed to be used as cushion for the night and Kanimozhi went to sleep around 11 00 PM. "She slept around 11 in the night and got up around 5-5.30 AM, took a bath and had her breakfast from the jail canteen," a Tihar jail official told IANS. "Her breakfast was simple — bread slices with butter and tea. She read some Tamil newspapers before starting for the court at 9 00 AM," the official said.
In Tihar, her next door companions include Madhuri Gupta, the junior Indian diplomatic official who was arrested on charges of spying for Pakistan's intelligence agency, and alleged pimp Sonu Punjaban. "Kanimozhi has been kept in the 'first time offenders ward'," the official added. He said her cell has a TV set and a small curtained toilet. Kanimozhi had complained about mosquitoes and asked for a mosquito repellent. "She also chatted with some other inmates, specially with the Tamil inmates in the women's ward last evening," the official said. He said she would not be allowed to interact with the other accused in the 2G spectrum scam, including former communications minister A. Raja and Kalaignar TV chief Sharad Kumar.