JOIN USDuring her previous visit, hundreds of visitors to the Parappana Agrahara Central Jail were made to wait. But on Tuesday, authorities pulled all stops to cater to the prison visitors’ needs.
Bandobast was strictly enforced at the Central Jail, where the special court hall has been erected to conduct the trial proceedings of Jayalalitha’s case. The visitors were not allowed within 400 mtrs of the court complex. However, a special bus was arranged to transport ‘prison visitors’ to and from the prison to the main road.
Conceding that the ad hoc arrangement last time around had caused many problems to the visitors, a policeman said: “This time, every measure had been taken to prevent the visitors from causing any trouble. We managed to send them into the jail premises and bring them back to the main road, smoothly.”
On a day, the Central Jail has around 200 visitors. But on Tuesday, around 300 people visited the Jail between 9.30 am and 4.30 pm. A separate counter was set up on the Naganathapura Main Road to separate the relatives of the prison inmates from others. The visitors were required to register their names before they were taken inside the prison in a bus.
Farooq, one of the relatives, said: “It is not fair for the common man to suffer because of a VIP’s visit. I had come last time, but could not meet my brother. I had to seek permission again. But this time, there were no problems,” he added.