Manish Sisodia’s one year in Tihar: Reads Bhagwad Gita, plays badminton, calls home

NEW DELHI: Delhi’s former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who completed one year in jail on Monday, spends most of his time inside his cell reading books from the library, playing badminton and reading the Bhagvad Gita, a Tihar jail official said.

Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy scam on February 26, 2023. He was later arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) also in the case and then sent to the Tihar jail.

Sisodia is presently lodged in Tihar jail number 1, where he stays in his separate cell shared with two more inmates, who are lodged in non-heinous cases, official sources said.

Tihar has 16 jails. All the cells, wards and barracks in the jails are heavily mounted with CCTV cameras installed by the prison authorities.

An official said Sisodia spends most of his time reading the Bhagvad Gita and books issued from the Tihar library and playing badminton, a facility provided by the jail authorities for all inmates.

According to the Tihar jail officials, Sisodia does some meditation before having the morning tea. The officials said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader has not yet demanded any specific thing and is housed in the jail like other inmates.

The officials said because of his gentle behaviour in the prisons, he was never shuffled to other jails of the Tihar.

The timings for the tea, food and watching television is same for him like the other inmates, he said.

Morning starts with tea, biscuits and snacks including ‘dalia’ between 7 and 8 am. Lunch is served either with chapati or rice along with dal and one vegetable, an official said.

He said the wards remain closed between 12 pm and 3 pm. At 4 pm, tea is served again.

The official said dinner is served by 7 pm with the same set of food items – dal, rice, chapati and vegetable.

Sisodia is one of the three AAP leaders who were arrested and remained in Tihar jail. Satyendar Jain and Sanjay Singh are the other two arrested Delhi ruling party leaders.

Jain is out on bail on medical grounds. Singh, however, is lodged in Tihar jail number 2.

Sisodia spends most of his time reading books, including the Bhagavad Gita. In March 2023, the court had allowed him to carry the Hindu holy book, a pen and a dairy. He also plays badminton in the evening, an official said.

In the initial days, Sisodia also wrote public letters related to the educational qualification of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the importance of education for the underprivileged children. These letters were shared by his party leaders out of the prisons.

Another official from Tihar said Sisodia avails the facility of ‘inmate calling system’ where a prisoner can talk to his family once in a day for five minutes.

Sisodia’s bail plea has been rejected multiple times by the Supreme Court. However, he was granted permission to meet his ailing wife twice.

In October and November, he was allowed to go home, located at Mathura Road, and meet his wife on the court’s order.

An official said Sisodia often goes for medical check up in hospitals outside Tihar, whenever doctors in Tihar advise him. In January, he was taken to Delhi government-run LNJP Hospital for consultation on orthopaedic issues, the official said.