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New Delhi
, June 26 (IANS) For 43-year-old Kanimozhi, her days in the 15 ft x10 ft
solitary cell in India's most secured prison are spent mostly pining, and
sometimes crying for her son or reading newspapers and writing, jail sources
said.****
Her ever-present smile has also disappeared with time, especially after the
Supreme Court rejected her bail plea. These days the Rajya Sabha MP looks
pale, sad and in despair, the sources told IANS, speaking strictly on
condition they were not identified. She also cries a lot.****
Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar, managing director of Kalaignar TV Pvt Ltd, a
DMK-run television channel, were named by the Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) as co-conspirators in the 2G spectrum scam. Kanimozhi,
daughter of DMK chief M. Karunanidhi, has been in jail since May 20.****
'She is finding it difficult (being confined to her cell). For the first one
week she looked fine, but after her three bail pleas were rejected, she was
clearly upset. We see her crying now and then,' one source said.****
Kanimozhi's first bail plea was rejected by the special CBI court May 20 and
then by the Delhi High Court June 8 and by the Supreme Court June 20.****
Unlike her party colleague and former cabinet minister A. Raja - also an
accused in the 2G scam - Kanimozhi, a Tamil poet, keeps to herself. While
Raja seems to have reconciled to his fate, she is unable to come to terms
with the turn her life has taken.****
Restricted to the solitary cell in Jail No Six, Ward Number Eight of Tihar,
Kanimozhi spends most of her time writing something or the other and reads
English and Tamil literary works, the jail official said.****
After her application for papers and pen before the special 2G court was
granted May 26, she is seen writing frequently. 'We are not sure whether she
writes poetry or random thoughts,' other sources told IANS.****
'After she returns from the court, we usually see her busy writing,' they
added.****
With the court on vacation, Kanimozhi is finding it difficult to spend her
time. She is also worried that she is unable to meet her 10-year-old son
Aditya and her mother Rajathi Ammal.****
During court hearings, Kanimozhi would be seen interacting with her son and
mother exclusively. On occasions, she was seen hugging Aditya or making him
sit on her lap.****
Jail sources said apart from writing and reading, she watches television in
her cell, which has a cable connection and shows 28 channels.****
'If you ask what upsets her most it is her separation from her son. She
talks little but whenever she talks it is mostly about her son,' the source
said.****
Meanwhile, after meeting Kanimozhi in Tihar Jail June 23, the DMK chief told
reporters in Chennaithat his daughter is spending her days in 'inhumane
conditions' and was in poor health. This was his second meeting inside the
jail.****
'Due to the harsh **Delhi** heat, she has developed boils all over the
body,' Karunanidhi said, adding that she is unable to bear the
****Delhi****heat.
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He said Sharad Kumar was also in a bad shape.****
But Tihar Jail law officer and spokesperson Sunil Gupta countered this.
'Tihar Jail has been appreciated by the National Human Rights Commission
(NHRC) and by the Delhi High Court for our maintenance, and among the many
jails in the country we are in the forefront in fulfilling the basic needs
of the jail inmates.'****
Gupta also said that if any jail inmate is not feeling well, he or she could
use the dispensary inside the jail premises.****
'We have our own team of doctors; if she is unwell the doctors can go up to
her ward and treat her or she can go to the dispensary herself. No special
permission is needed. Any inmate can inform the jail superintendent
concerned for any medical assistance,' he said.****
He also said that Kanimozhi is not engaged in any work inside the jail like
candle-making as reported by the media.****
'She is an undertrial and undertrials are not given any task to do. So she
is not learning any trade in the jail,' Gupta added.****
(Prathiba Raju can be contacted at [email protected])****
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