NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Saurabh Bharadwaj on Wednesday said that as Manish Sisodia has been kept in Tihar Jail's cell No 1 with hardened criminals in ward no 9 as neighbours, the party is apprehensive of a potential "political murder".
Bharadwaj said it is the first time an undertrial has been placed in that cell. "There are very hardened criminals with many murder cases against them in Jail number one. Some of them are not even mentally sound. It won't matter to them if another murder case is added. We are political rivals but will the Centre now commit political murders?" he asked.
"I want to warn jail officials not to get trapped in the conspiracy of the BJP. Many murders have taken place in the jail, so we have apprehensions about former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia's murder," the AAP leader said while addressing the media on Wednesday.
AAP leader Sanjay Singh said, "Today, on the auspicious festival of Holi, the enmity of BJP has reached such an extent with the AAP that Manish Sisodia who gave an education model, has been kept in jail among such dreaded criminals that we are afraid of his murder," alleged Singh. He also asked why the court order to keep the 51-year-old Sisodia in a Vipassana cell (for meditation) was not being followed.
However, the Tihar Jail denied all the allegations saying that the former AAP Minister has been assigned to a segregated ward keeping his security in mind.
"Under trial prisoner Manish Sisodia has been assigned to a segregated ward keeping his security in mind. The ward of central jail number 1, where he is lodged, has a minimum number of inmates who are not gangsters and they are maintaining good conduct inside the jail," a senior Tihar Jail official told The New Indian Express.
He added that a separate cell makes it possible for Sisodia to meditate and do other activities without disturbance. "All the arrangements, as per Jail Rules, are in place to ensure his safety and security. Any aspersions cast about his lodgings are unfounded," the official said.
Earlier, Bharadwaj had voiced his surprise that the national government would go to such an extent to pursue its political rivals. "The BJP appears to have turned to such extreme methods because despite numerous conspiracies they were unable to defeat the AAP in Delhi in three successive elections. This is a worrying sign for the democracy in India," he exclaimed.
Singh said, "First our health minister and now our education minister has been put behind bars. The Central Bureau of Investigation has continuously raided but nothing was found. Sisodia is not even named in the chargesheet, yet he is named as the main conspirator."
On Monday, the Rouse Avenue Court sent Manish Sisodia to judicial custody till March 20 in connection with the alleged excise policy scam case. The court accepted Sisodia’s plea to carry Bhagwad Gita, diary, and spectacles, apart from his prescribed medicines. The court also asked prison authorities to consider Sisodia’s request for a vipassana cell where meditation workshops are being conducted.
Tihar Jail sources told this newspaper that after Sisodia reached the prison on Monday afternoon, he was first asked to undergo some medical tests and was provided with a ‘Sparsh Kit’, which includes toothpaste, soap, a toothbrush, and other items of daily needs. “His medical reports were normal,” a prison official said.
On his first day in the prison, around 7.30 pm, Delhi's former education minister was offered basic food like chapati, rice and sabzi (vegetables), and the latter did not raise any objection over it.
On Tuesday, the sleuths of the Enforcement Directorate for the first time questioned Sisodia. According to sources, the ED team on Tuesday reached the Tihar Jail around 12 pm and left the prison around 6 pm after questioning Sisodia for over 5 hours.
The case is about the laundering of the kickback money which was allegedly generated by deliberate tweaking of the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22. It has been alleged that the policy led to windfall gains for certain liquor traders who routed back the money to politicians, government servants, and middlemen as bribes.
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Sisodia is lodged in ward number 9 of Jail number 1 with some dreaded criminals as neighbours. Jail number 1 is the oldest on the Tihar premises. AAP's Satyendar Jain is lodged in jail number 7 of Tihar in a money laundering case.
Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that on Holi, he will pray for the country and meditate continuously for 7 hours from 10 am to 5 pm. Before starting meditation and prayers, Kejriwal on Wednesday reached Rajghat in the national capital and paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi.
In a video message, the Delhi Chief Minister said that the country's situation is worrying and therefore he will pray for the country.
Kejriwal also said that Sisodia and Jain are in jail but no action has been taken against Adani. "A country where the Prime Minister jails people who provide good education and good health facilities to people and supports those who rob the country, it is worrying. I will meditate and pray for the country. If you also think what Prime Minister Narendra Modi is doing is wrong and you, too, are worried about the country, then I urge you, after celebrating Holi, please take out time to pray for the country," he added.
Sisodia was arrested last week after nearly eight hours of questioning, during which his answers were allegedly not found satisfactory.
The CBI filed its charge sheet in the case on November 25. The CBI had not named Sisodia in the charge sheet as the central probe agency kept the probe open against him and other suspects and accused.
Sisodia was arrested after his deposition appeared incoherent with respect to the evidence and information gathered by the agency during the preliminary probe and statements of witnesses and accused (including government officials) who deposed in the case so far.
In a statement issued post his arrest, the CBI claimed, “He gave evasive replies and did not co-operate the investigation despite being confronted with evidence to the contrary.”
(With additional inputs from online desk)