HYDERABAD: Disgraced Satyam boss B Ramalinga Raju may not be able to access his wardrobe full of designer suits and shoes, but from Saturday his
stay at Hyderabad’s Chanchalguda prison will get a little better.
Raju and his brother, Rama Raju, have been living the life of ordinary inmates since their arrest on January 9 — sleeping on cold mattresses on the ground, eating watery daal and rice and sharing toilets with other prisoners.
Granted special class prisoner status on Friday, the brothers will now get cots, pillows, mattresses, sheets, mosquito nets, a separate kitchen and toilet, jail sources said.
The facilities go beyond bare necessities. ‘‘They can get newspapers and can smoke cigarettes or cigars if they wish to. They can also eat meat and fish everyday provided it is brought by their family members,’’ the source said.
Apart from separate cots, pillows, mattresses, toilet, kitchen, there are other privileges that the Rajus can ask for. ‘‘Like if they ask for a colour TV, it is the duty of the state government to provide it,’’ one official said. The only facility they are denied is access to a telephone.
A Hyderabad lower court granted special class prisoner status to the Rajus few days ago. However, the order asked the Hyderabad collector, under whose jurisdiction Chanchalguda falls, to certify that the Rajus were used to a high lifestyle and should be accorded the same while in jail. After the collector certified the lifestyle, the court issued the orders which reached the jail on Friday afternoon.
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