HYDERABAD: Satyam chairman B Ramalinga Raju managed to get himself special facilities in the Chanchalguda jail. So did Gali Janardhan Reddy and his brother-in-law B V Srinivas Reddy after petitioning the court. Now V D Rajagopal and Koneru Prasad have gone to court wanting the same.And the prison authorities are in a fix. With a capacity of 650 inmates, the jail hosts about 700 now. With the number of inmates demanding special facilities swelling, there is no more room for VIPs who miss the warmth of home in prison.So what if M/s Rajagopal and Prasad are granted special class status by the court? Prison department sources told Express that they would have no choice but to turn a barracks or some cells into a ‘special’ facility."But how many cells can we convert into rooms for special prisoners? We have ordinary prisoners to cater to as well,” said a prison official.If more cells are converted into special rooms, ordinary prisoners would have to be stuffed into fewer cells. Turning a cell into a special category room is not difficult."All we have to do is clean it up, provide a bed, mattress, mosquito net, table, chair and other facilities. But where is the space,’’ asked an official.Apart from these facilities, special prisoners get newspapers, magazines and the choice of ordering non-veg food from outside. "These VIPs lead seven-star lives. They find it difficult sleeping on the floor. They also mind being lodged with ordinary prisoners. But we have our limitations,’’ the official said.Chanchalguda was originally built to house 1050 inmates. However, with construction activity going on for new blocks, the capacity has been reduced to 650."Accommodating a few more ordinary prisoners is not a problem but turning more barracks or cells into special class facilities is a different problem altogether,’’ sources said. The prison department is thinking of sending the VIP suspects to Cherlapally prison, but then the problem would arise there too.
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