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New Delhi, Nov. 23 (The Telegraph): When Chhota Rajan walks, a dozen armed policemen take guard. When the deported don strikes a serene yoga pose and breathes out, the policemen hold their breath.
Not that it's a one-way traffic. Rajan, officials in Tihar jail said, was turning out to be a super raconteur, regaling them with anecdotes about his former boss-turned-rival Dawood Ibrahim and the Mumbai underworld.
But it is his morning excursions that have been keeping the officials on their toes since a Delhi court sent Rajan to Asia's biggest prison on Thursday, after his arrest and subsequent deportation to India earlier this month.
Not many would have the privilege of being escorted by a dozen armed police personnel when taking their morning walk, more so if someone is wanted in 71 cases including murder, kidnapping and extortion. But that's exactly the type of security Chhota Rajan has been getting.
"This is probably the first time we have deployed 12 gun-toting policemen for a prisoner going for his morning walk. The policemen form a ring around him when he walks and does yoga for half an hour in the open every morning," a Tihar official said.
Sources said Rajan was an early riser and a stickler for fitness.
Even his cell has a three-layer security, thanks to a perceived threat from Dawood, the alleged mastermind of the 1993 Bombay blasts.
"After a heightened level of threat perception to his life from his former boss Dawood Ibrahim, we have provided three layers of security outside his solitary cell," the official confirmed.
Rajan has been kept in a 5ft-by-10ft cell in the prison's jail No. 2. Ten warders, one deputy superintendent and two assistant superintendents have been assigned to look after his security arrangement.
"He told us Dawood's gang was hell-bent on eliminating him," said another official. "He also does not want to be shifted to jails in Mumbai and feels safe in Tihar."
Rajan, 55, whose real name is Rajendra Sadashiv Nikhalje, was arrested at Bali International Airport on October 25 after 27 years on the run. At least one theory that did the rounds then was the arrest was part of a larger operation under which Rajan would be given protection in India, probably in a jail, as the government stepped up efforts to target Dawood.
The don, too, may have done his bit to feed such quid-pro-quo theories when he handed CBI officials a list of edibles shortly after his deportation.
He asked for Vegemite spread, baked eggs with spinach, cheese sandwich, burgers and cornflakes with milk, saying he had developed western food habits after remaining abroad for years. Rajan had spent the past two decades in Australia, Bangkok, Indonesia and a few western countries.
"We told him such items are not available in the prison," a Tihar official said.
That, of course, doesn't mean Rajan is not getting other "VIP" luxuries. "Since he is diabetic and suffers from kidney ailment, we provide him meals of his choice that include idli, uttapam, milk and bread," the official said.
Sources said ordinary prisoners have to make do with dal, roti and sabzi.
"He is enjoying other favours, too," the official said. "He has been provided with a soft bed and TV inside his cell. Other prisoners sleep on the floor and are only provided with blankets."
Prison officials were tight-lipped about the money being spent on Rajan's security but said it would continue. "The trial will take long, which means he'll be in the jail for a good period," said a senior official. "He is here to stay."
Photo credit: The Telegrsph
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