Mumbai: The safest place to run a gambling racket in the city could well be from the sanitised environs of a hospital bed.
It has come to the fore that Jaya Bhagat, arrested on charges of orchestrating the murder of ex-husband matka king Suresh Bhagat in 2008, has competently been running the matka business while admitted to JJ hospital's general ward over the last year.
At a time when medical facilities in the prison are dismal and most prisoners do not have access to basic cough tablets and painkillers, Jaya's overstay at the hospital is raising many eyebrows.
Well-placed sources said that instead of serving time in a prison, Jaya, under the guise of being treated, is "being pampered and is enjoying a good time and has also been running the matka business from the hospital ward".
Sources said she has been running the matka business using the cell phones of relatives and visitors who come to see her.
The details of her stay were revealed through an RTI enquiry.
The documents (in MiD DAY's possession) state that Jaya's last stint at JJ hospital was a year long, since January 21, 2010, until January 8, 2011, the date the reply was issued.
Moreover, ever since her jail custody since August 2008, she has been visiting the hospital almost every month (see box), spending an aggregate of 490 days in the hospital's care until date.
Jaya's illnesses
According to hospital authorities, Jaya is being treated for hypothyroidism, infection in the urinary bladder, psychotic depression, uterine fibroid, and has been admitted to the neurology ward of the hospital.
Rulebook says
As per the rule, undertrials are supposed to be admitted in the prison ward. But jail authorities say that even after they intervened, Jaya has still not been shifted. "Jaya's continual hospital stays did come to my notice.
I wrote to the hospital authorities asking them to shift her to the prisoner ward, but to no avail," said Surinder Kumar, deputy inspector general, prisons.
Earlier this month, when MiD DAY asked JJ hospital dean, Dr T P Lahane, about prisoners staying at hospitals for long stretches, he had said, "It's a difficult task to handle prisoners.
They approach us with various special requests and unnecessarily pressurise the doctors and hospital administration.
But if the patient is really ill, irrespective of their prisoner status, we will treat the patient as a human being first."
Matka murder
Suresh Bhagat was allegedly murdered by his wife Jaya, son Hitesh and five others in June 2008.
The seven accused were booked under the Maharashtra Control Of Organised Crime Act, after investigations revealed that they had hatched a conspiracy to eliminate Bhagat. The MCOCA charges were dropped later.
According to the police, Jaya and Suresh were running two separate matka gambling operations in the city after they divorced.
The murder conspiracy came to light after a dispute over earnings worth
Rs 100 crore.
Good Life
Details of Jaya Bhagat's stay at JJ hospital:
Jan 21, 2010 to Jan 8, 2011: nearly a year
Dec 12, 2009 to Jan 4, 2010: 25 days
May 30, 2009 to July 14 2009: 45 days
April 25, 2009 to May 15, 2009: 20 days
Mar 25, 2009 to Mar 30, 2009: 6 days
Feb 4, 2009 to Mar 3, 2009: 30 days
Apna Matka
The history of matka, a form of gambling, in the city dates back to 1962, when Kalyanji Shah alias Kalyanjibhai began the Worli matka. It involved 12 playing cards minus the Queen and the ratio of payment was Re 1 to Rs 11.
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