Jayalalithaa not getting VIP treatment: Jail official

Prison officer says AIADMK chief has conducted herself very politely with the prison officials and not made any demand for luxury

AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa is not getting VIP treatment, but being looked after as any other ordinary prisoner at the Parapanna Agrahara Central prison where she is lodged after conviction in the disproportionate assets case, according to a top jail official.

"Madam (Jayalalithaa) is getting no VIP treatment. She is being treated as any other prisoner at Parapanna Agrahara," DIG Prisons P M Jaisimha told PTI here.

She has conducted herself very politely with the prison officials and not made any demand for luxury, except that she has asked for an iron cot as per doctors' advise, he said.

Jayalalithaa has not even asked for a television set, while a common TV is provided even for ordinary prisoners, he said.

"She instead insists on providing things as per the manual rules of the prison. She has not made any demand for luxury, except ordering for an iron cot as per the doctors' advice.She has been very polite with the officials," he said.

Since Jayalalithaa is a short-termer (a prisoner who is not undergoing rigorous imprisonment), she is allowed to wear her garments, he said. She is happy wearing sarees only and she is not wearing any cosmetics either, Jaisimha added.

Jayalalithaa also is being looked after by her close aide Sasikala and Elavarasi, the latter's relative, who have also been imprisoned in the same women's barracks, he said.

The AIADMK chief is keeping good health and eating simple food as per doctors' advice, besides reading newspapers, Jaisimha said. "She is eating brown bread, milk, biscuits, fruits and chappatis, if she demands," he said.

The 66-year-old three-time chief minister, who has been allotted VVIP cell number 23 of the prison, also reads newspapers without fail, Jaisimha said. "Without any fail, madam reads three English dailies every day," he said.

Jayalalithaa, who is now prisoner number 7402 at the jail, wakes up early in the morning and takes a stroll in the premises of the prison, the official said.

Sasikala and her relatives, Elavarasi and Sudhakaran have been given prisoner numbers 7403, 7404 and 7405 respectively. The Special Court has sent Jayalalithaa and three other accused to four years in jail.