Sasikala expected to reach Bengaluru prison around 5 pm

BENGALURU: AIADMK general secretary VK Sasikala is expected to reach the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison in Bengaluru around 5 pm on Wednesday. She will appear before a special judge of a court set up within the prison before she is incarcerated.

The Bengaluru police have stepped up security near the prison in anticipation of Sasikala's supporters flocking the prison. As of now, the police have not issued prohibitory orders under IPC Section 144. Two platoons of the Karnataka State Reserve Police - roughly 200 personnel - have been deployed. The police have barred prison visits. Several visitors who came from different parts of the state to meet inmates were sent back.

Supreme Court on Tuesday convicted Sasikala, her nephew VN Sudhakaran and sister-in-law J Elavarasi in a Disproportionate Assets case. Soon after the Apex Court upheld the conviction, Karnataka appointed Ashwath Narayan as the judge to oversee Sasikala's surrender. After the judge remands her to judicial custody, she will be allotted a number, a jail cell and undergo medical check-up, sources said.

Sasikala’s prisoner number was 7403 when she was lodged with Jayalalithaa, Sudhakaran and Ilavarasi in 2014. Prison authorities clarified that Sasikala, unlike Jayalalithaa, will not be entitled to facilities that VVIP prisoners enjoy.

City Police Commissioner Praveen Sood is at the spot to review security arrangements.