How will Barrack Number 12, the cell in Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail where fugitive business tycoon Vijay Mallya will be lodged, look like?
A television set, a personal toilet, bedding with pillows and mattresses, a washing area, a courtyard and enough natural light and air for Mallya.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has submitted a six to eight-minute-long video documentary before a London court to counter Mallya’s charge that Arthur Road Jail does not have any natural light or air, reported NDTV.
Following Mallya’s complaints, a UK court had asked the Indian authorities to submit a video of the cell where the businessman would be lodged.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for 12 September.
"The court wanted us to show if Indian jails are hygienic. We have given them proof of the hygiene level and medical facilities available in jail. In fact, the barrack in which Mr Mallya would be lodged is east-facing so it has lot of sunlight too," a senior official told NDTV.
The official, who was associated with the filming of the video, told NDTV that Barrack Number 12 also has cross ventilation with a window and bars on opposite sides, adding that to assure Mallya’s safety in jail the Home Ministry had recently conducted a security audit of the jail, and its findings were also submitted to the court.
The official also said, “Food is served four times during the day inside an earmarked area of the barrack, where the inmates are told to gather.”
Another official, on conditions of anonymity, told The Times of India that the UK court has also been given proof of hygiene in the barrack and the medical facilities available in the jail compound.
How Valid Were Mallya’s Claims?
Arthur Road Jail was inaugurated in 1926 and is one of the biggest and oldest jails in Mumbai. It can hold 2,200 inmates, but according to sources, there are more than 3,500 prisoners lodged in the jail at present.
According to Maharashtra’s former IG (Prison) Meera Borwankar, despite the lack of funds and infrastructure, the jail is neat and clean. Speaking to The Quint, Borwankar said:
Despite the lack of funds and infrastructure the jail premises are very neat and clean and we are running it smoothly. Time has come for Vijay Mallya to reap what he has sown. The Barack No 12 of Arthur Road Jail is waiting for an undertrial, not a VIP.
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