Suspended JDU lawmaker Manorama Devi tossed and turned on the floor, with no ceiling fan overhead while mosquitoes stung her in 42°C heat on her first night at Gaya Central Jail on Tuesday.
She was provided a blanket and a bed-sheet like 47 other women prisoners in the women’s ward, but it didn’t help. The very next morning, she asked jail authorities for a cooler as the mercury brushed past 44 degrees Celsius in Gaya. She also requested senior jail officials to allow her to have meals sent from home.
Manorama was forwarded on 14 days’ judicial custody after she surrendered on Tuesday in connection with a case lodged under the new excise rules. Her husband Bindi Yadav and son Rocky Yadav are in the same jail but in a different ward. Their relative Teni Yadav is lodged in a separate ward. Rocky is accused of shooting dead Aditya Sachdeva in a road rage case. His father allegedly helped him escape before he finally surrendered. Teni is alleged to have been in the SUV Rocky was driving.
Manorama would be treated like a common prisoner, Gaya central jail superintendent Rajiv Kumar Jha said. “We’ve assured her we’ll consider her demand for home-made meal tomorrow,” he said.
On Tuesday night, she was served roti, a dish made of lauki (pumpkin) and halwa. She didn’t eat much. As she had to sleep on the floor and that too without a ceiling fan, she kept cursing the police and other (excise) officials for framing her in a “false case”.
The lawmaker, now prisoner number 48, was heard telling a fellow prisoner: “Ye koi rahne ki jagah hai (Is this a place to live in)?” She was restless the whole night.
She woke up around 6am on Wednesday. After morning chores, she asked for a tea and bread, which was provided in half an hour. For lunch she was served rice, dal (pulses) and a vegetable dish. She was served tea and snacks in the evening. She will be served paneer and roti on Wednesday evening. “We have different menus for all days of the week. Kheer, sweets, halwa and curd have also been included,” the jail superintendent said.
Manorama had complained of high blood pressure. On Wednesday, doctors examined her and found her to be in good health. Her husband Bindi Yadav and their son Rocky Yadav are lodged in the same ward and Rocky’s cousin Teni in a separate cell.
“There has been no interaction between Manorama and her husband or son so far,” said a senior jail official. He said both Bindi and Rocky looked tense and were often seen interacting with each other.
When Bindi was brought in (on May 8), he skipped meal, even refusing tea. “He now wakes up around 6am and also sleeps soundly,” the officer said.
Rocky sought to know from the warders about gym. He was advised him to do yoga, which he agreed to. “He can be seen doing yoga or meditating inside the ward. Other prisoners help him out,” the officer said.
Bindi is prisoner number 22757 and Rocky 22754. Over 12,000 male and 48 female prisoners are lodged in the jail.
