Sasikala granted bail in preferential treatment in prison case

Bengaluru: Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister late J Jayalalithaa’s aide V K Sasikala and her sister-in-law J Ilavarasi were on Friday granted regular bail by a special court dealing with anti-corruption cases in connection with the alleged preferential treatment given to them during their jail term in the Bengaluru Central Jail in disproportionate assets case.

Along with them, the then assistant superintendent of Central Jail at Parappana Agrahara in the city and the prison security officer too appeared before the special judge K Lakshminarayana Bhat.

Sasikala and Ilavarasi were ordered to pay a bond of Rs three lakh, and will have to appear again on April 16. The then Chief Superintendent and the Superintendent of the Central jail, who too are accused in this case, have got a stay from the Karnataka High Court against the ACB inquiry, sources said.

The case relates to the alleged preferential treatment to Sasikala during her stay in the Bengaluru jail in connection with a disproportionate assets case.

In 2017, the then Deputy Inspector General of Police (Prison) D Roopa had claimed that Sasikala was given preferential treatment and she was allowed to wear civil dress instead of the clothes prescribed for prisoners. An inquiry conducted by a retired IAS officer on the directions of the state government reportedly revealed that a separate kitchen functioned for her inside the jail.

The Karnataka government had sanctioned the prosecution of accused people on December 30 last year, and the charge sheet was filed before the special court on January seven this year.