'Satyam' Raju does not ask for food on Day 1 at Chanchalguda jail

Hyderabad: From a business tycoon used to sleeping in palatial beds and driving around in Mercedes, B Ramalinga Raju, the disgraced chief of Satyam Computer Services, will sleep on a thick mattress and share a cell including a common Indian toilet with about 40 undertrials wanted for murder, rape, chain snatching, pocket picking and selling illicit liquor.
According to Chanchalguda jail officials, Ramalinga Raju and his brother Rama Raju were brought to the prison at 8 pm and after finishing the formalities, they were ushered into the admission barrack, with 40 other day’s undertrials. The brothers were frisked at the reception and a metal detector was also run on them.As part of the jail procedures, valuables like jewellery, cash and prohibitive items like cell phone and knives belonging to the undertrials were taken away from them and kept in a locker. Ramalinga Raju and his brother also deposited Rs 5,000 cash which they had on them with the jail officials. After that, the Rajus were led to the jail enclosure and admitted to the admission barrack, where all the day’s undertrials were kept.
On Sunday morning, a duty doctor will examine all the new undertrials and give a health status report. Based on the medical report, jail officials will segregate the prisoners and assign them to individual barracks or cells. Those who do not have any kind of threat will normally be admitted in one of the 25 barracks. If an undertrial complains of threat from fellow prisoners, based on the jail officials discretion, he will be kept in one of the 20 cells at the jail. There also he will either stay alone or share it with two others, Chanchalguda jail superintendent M Chandrasekhar said.
Either in a barrack or in a cell, Raju will have to sleep on a durrie, a three inch cotton mattress. Raju, like any other undertrial, can carry his own bed linen but not a bed. He can bring his own clothes and staple food like bread, jam and pickle. But homemade food is not allowed. However, on Friday night, the Rajus did not ask for any food. Even in the jail canteen Raju will get the same food. “Bread, jam, pickle and fruits are available in the canteen,” Chandrasekhar said. In a barrack, the exchairman of Satyam, has to share the toilets with 40 fellow prisoners and if it is a cell he has to use ‘Indian toilet’ without a door. Like all his fellow prisoners, Raju will have to get inside the barracks by 6 pm and will only be allowed to come out at 6 am. At 6.15 am he will be served rice item like ‘pulihora’ or three rotis with dal. For lunch at 11 am he will be served with rice or rotis, dal and a vegetable curry. The same will be the menu for the dinner.
(Source TOI)