Navjot Singh Sidhu used to handover his canteen card to two inmates to purchase fruits for him. The monthly limit of his card of Rs 15,000 exhausted merely within few days after he got it recharged
Navjot Singh Sidhu. ANI
New Delhi: Navjot Singh Sidhu, who is serving one-year rigorous imprisonment in Patiala Central Jail in a road rage case, reportedly complained that his prison canteen card was allegedly misused by one of his fellow barrack inmates. Following the accusation by the former Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief, there has been a reshuffle in the barracks of the jail.
A report by The Indian Express quoted Sidhu’s wife Dr Navjot Kaur saying that he used to handover his canteen card to two inmates to purchase fruits for him. The monthly limit of Sidhu’s card of Rs 15,000 exhausted merely within few days after the canteen card was recharged, she added.
Punjab Director General of Police (Prisons) Harpreet Singh Sidhu said that Navjot Singh Sidhu has complained to the jail authorities that one of his fellow inmates has misused his canteen card. The matter was verified and an inmate was shifted from Sidhu’s barrack, the daily quoted the senior cop saying.
Patiala Jail Superintendent Manjit Singh Tiwana however said that the inmates weren’t shifted following Sidhu’s complaint but called the shifting a “routine” practice.
A Hindustan Times report quoted a source in Patiala jail saying that Sidhu had been sharing the barrack with five other inmates. As there are security concerns, the cricketer-turned-politician used to hand over his canteen’s cash card to his fellow inmates to procure his special diet — recommended by a medical board — from the jail canteen.
Some reports claimed that Sidhu was involved in quarrel or argument with some of his prison inmates. Jail Minister Harjot Singh Bains, however, denied them and said that no brawl took place.
“It was a 4-day old trivial issue. Every inmate is issued a card. Sidhu says an inmate had drawn ration on his card for himself. Legal notice will be sent to channels that run such news,” ANI quoted the minister as saying.
Navjot Singh Sidhu was moved to Patiala Central Jail on 20 May after he surrendered before a local court to serve one-year jail term awarded to him by the Supreme Court in a 1988 road rage case. He was earlier let off in the case with Rs 1,000 fine.
With inputs from agencies
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