Sasikala case: PAC wants stern action

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, Jul 22 2017, DH News: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the state legislature on Friday directed the Home Department to immediately suspend all those responsible for providing special treatment to AIADMK leader Sasikala at Bengaluru central prison.

The PAC, which is reviewing prison reforms, also directed Principal Secretary (Home) P K Garg to submit within 15 days a detailed report on irregularities in prisons in the state, including Bengaluru Central Prison at Parappana Agrahara.

Senior officials of the Prisons Department also appeared before the panel which held its meeting at the Vidhana Soudha. Senior BJP leader R Ashoka is the chairman of the committee.

Sources said the PAC members sought to know under what rules the prison authorities allotted five rooms to Sasikala. ADGP (Prisons) N S Megharikh and DIG (Prisons) H S Revanna, who had appeared before the committee, are learnt to have said that they were new to the posts and assured that they will submit a report in this regard shortly.

IPS officer D Roopa recently submitted a report to the government on irregularities and corruption in Bengaluru Central Prison. She had accused the prison authorities of taking Rs 2 crore bribe from Sasikala for providing special treatment, triggering a major controversy. The government, however, transferred her from the post of DIG (Prisons).

Besides, the PAC members took the Prison Department officials to task for not taking any action on the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) report, which had found large-scale irregularities in the state prisons.

The national auditor had reported that it had found about 4000 mobile phones, 3000 SIM cards, 2500 mobile battery chargers and 40.39 kg of drugs in various prisons of the state. The report was pertaining to 2004 and 2009.

The sources said based on the CAG report, the PAC had in 2009 made 22 recommendations to the Home Department in order to set right the lapses. But no action was taken in this regard.

The then government in 2013 formed a committee headed by the Home Department secretary to look into the PAC’s recommendations. In the past four years, the committee has met only once and no action has been taken to bring in reforms in prisons, the sources added.

PAC members were, however, not available for comments.