New Delhi:
In his political heyday, you'd be likely to bump into Amar Singh in the popular coffee shop or bar of Delhi's most luxurious five-star hotels, holding a large drink in hand, talking expansively, and often indiscreetly. Jail was a political necessity - a place that he crowded sometimes in Lucknow along with loud party protesters as they courted arrest.
In the capital, he has been a symbol of the good life and he has lived it large. The 15x10 foot prison cell that he currently occupies thus, would be a tight fit. It is a "single-occupancy" cell though and is fitted with a television set. Most of Amar Singh's cars would be more well appointed.
On his first night in Tihar Jail, Amar Singh ate khichdi, was administered insulin and explained his medical history to the jail doctor. The Rajya Sabha MP recently had a kidney transplant and has sought interim bail on medical grounds. The court will hear his appeal tomorrow.
Yesterday, Mr Singh was sent to 14 days in judicial custody by a Delhi court following his arrest in the 2008 cash-for-votes scam case.
He was driven to Tihar Jail, not in a luxurious imported SUV of the type that he seems to prefer, but in a prison bus. "He reached the jail premises at 6.25 pm. After entering the prison he was first taken to the jail hospital. It has been decided to keep him in jail number three," a jail official said.
Former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda, arrested in a multi-billion money laundering case, is lodged in the same jail. A list of neighbours at Tihar, in fact, reads more like the guest list at one of Amar Singh's lavish parties of yore - Lalit Bhanot and V K Verma, both arrested for their alleged involvement in the CWG scam, and Surendra Pipara, Hari Nair, Sharad Kumar, Sanjay Chandra, Vinod Goenka and Karim Morani all arrested in 2G spectrum case.
Amar Singh is the fifth MP to be lodged in Tihar Jail after 2G-scam-accused and Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi, former Telecom Minister A Raja, sacked Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi and Madhu Koda.