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Aravindan, husband of Kanimozhi, and their son Aditya leave a court after meeting the DMK MP in New Delhi yesterday. |
A day after she was sent to Tihar jail for involvement in the telecom scam, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP Kanimozhi looked composed and pale as she appeared before a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court yesterday.
The 43-year-old daughter of former Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi was clad in a yellow salwar suit when she was brought to the Patiala House court complex around 10am in a police van with other accused.
As soon as Kanimozhi stepped into the courtroom, her mother Rajathi Ammal broke down. However, the Rajya Sabha MP controlled her emotions and consoled her mother by holding her hands.
When reporters asked about her night in the Tihar Jail, Kanimozhi said: “No comments.”
She spent the night in a 10 ft by 15 ft cell in the women’s ward of jail number six.
Her lawyer urged the court to ensure that the toilet she is using within the cell be properly covered or a curtain be put around it.
Throughout the scrutiny of documents, she was seen talking to her husband G Aravinthan and eight-year-old son who sat on her lap and other family members.
The normally smiling DMK leader was composed and the only time she smiled was when her son hugged her.
When the court asked all the accused to leave for the day, Kanimozhi’s eyes turned teary and she hugged her son tightly and spoke to him while tears rolled down from her mother’s eyes.
Kanimozhi was arrested for her role in the second generation (2G) spectrum allocation scam. She was sent to Tihar Jail on May 20.
She was taken to Tihar around 4.30pm on Friday.
According to jail sources, a blanket was allowed to be used as a cushion for the night and Kanimozhi went to sleep around 11pm.
“She slept around 11 and got up around 5.30am, took a bath and had her breakfast from the jail canteen,” a Tihar jail official said.
“Her breakfast was simple - bread slices with butter and tea. She read some Tamil newspapers before starting for the court at 9am.”
In Tihar, her next door companions include Madhuri Gupta, a nior Indian diplomatic official who was arrested on charges of spying for Pakistan’s intelligence agency, and alleged pimp Sonu Punjaban.
“Kanimozhi has been kept in the ‘first time offenders ward’,” the official added.
He said her cell has a TV.
Kanimozhi had complained about mosquitoes and asked for a mosquito repellent.
“She also chatted with some other inmates, especially with the Tamil inmates in the women’s ward,” the official said.
He said she would not be allowed to interact with the other accused in the 2G spectrum scam, including former communications minister A Raja and Kalaignar TV chief Sharad Kumar.
Meanwhile, the court reserved until May 23 its order on the anticipatory bail plea of Cineyug Films founder Karim Morani, who has been named a co-conspirator in the scam.
Morani’s lawyer Sidhartha Luthra also submitted a medical report from J J Hospital in Mumbai, as demanded by the court on May 10 when he was exempted from personal appearance due to ill health.
“He needs eight small meals a day, and walk for two hours to maintain a stress-free life. His heart’s functioning is only 45% and he is also on heavy medication. Therefore, the court should allow his bail plea,” Luthra said.
However, the CBI said Morani cannot be treated as an innocent.
In a related development, two judges of Patiala House court yesterday inspected the special CBI court, which is handling cases related to 2G scam to know the conditions in the courtroom.