In Ajmer Jail, Inmates pay Rs 8 Lakhs for VIP rooms

Being in the big house isn’t exactly supposed to be a sweet-sixteen slumber party. It’s a time of repentance, reflection and retrospection, and for a prisoner to truly turn his life around, it’s important for prisons to make them live in conditions that urge them to regret their mistakes and start afresh. Except, inmates in Rajasthan’s Ajmer jail were caught renting VIP luxury suites for Rs 8 lakhs, and even paying extra to have access to banned substances like cigarettes. An investigation by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) into the bribery racket has revealed that every barrack in this prison had a “VIP room” that could be illegally rented by rich prisoners.

“During the investigation, we found that between barrack numbers 1 to barrack number 15 had a VIP room for those inmates who came from a sound financial background. Marking on these rooms were made with chalks. These inmates were provided with various facilities like a clean room, special food, clean clothes, etc,” an anonymous ACB official told Hindustan Times, adding that the middlemen working in these jails would accept either cash or online transfer of payments. “We have written to different banks to provide us with the bank statement of the accused in the racket. So far, 18 bank accounts have been seized.”

Another senior ACB official admitted that the families also paid extra for cigarettes and other indulgences. “The rate charged for one packet of cigarettes was between Rs 12,000 and Rs 15,000 and a packet of tobacco would cost between Rs 300 and Rs 500,” the officer said.

The ACB busted this bribery racket back in July 2019, and so far, 12 people have been arrested in connection with the racket, including four jail employees, two prisoners and relatives of a prisoner. The arrests of four men, including a former jailor and three middlemen, made just last week, have revealed that the bribery racket involved payouts of Rs 25 lakh per month. Two of the arrested jailors had been under the watchful eye of the ACB since the racket came to light in July. ACB officials say investigations at other prisons are also underway.

From businessmen and godmen to politicians and gang lords, influential people like AIADMK party leader VK Sasikala and Sahara group chief Subhrata Roy have long managed to wrangle special treatment in the form of air-conditioned rooms, WiFi and western-style toilets, in what is supposed to be a life devoid of freedom and luxuries.

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