Former AIADMK general secretary V.K. Sasikala, who is serving out a four-year sentence at the Bangalore Central Prison, Parappana Agrahara, along with her sister-in-law Ilavarasi, who is also in the jail, have applied for a distance learning course for certification in Kannada from Bangalore University (BU).
Director of the distance education department B.C. Mylarappa said that separate women teachers will be assigned to the two of them. “Classes will be held for a month at the jail, but dates have not yet been decided,” he said, adding that this was part of the reformatory initiative of BU. The varsity spends around ₹20 lakh on free education to inmates.
Ms. Ilavarasi applied for the one-year certification course on Thursday, while Ms. Sasikala had enrolled a few weeks ago, reveals the application form they had sent to the BU’s Directorate of Correspondence Courses and Direct Education.
Apart from the two, 257 other inmates have enrolled under various courses. A prison official said that Ms. Sasikala and her niece have been passing time in the jail learning Kannada informally through inmates or learning to operate computers. They are even cultivating mushrooms and vegetables. “We encouraged them to enrol in a distance education course and we are happy that they have agreed,” said a senior official.
Ilavarasi gets parole
Ilavarasi was released from the Bengalore Central Prison, Parappana Agrahara, on Thursday afternoon after her parole application was accepted. Prison officials said she had applied for a 15-day parole on Tuesday to visit her ailing brother in Chennai. Her brother had undergone a heart operation a few days ago, and his condition aggravated owing to reaction to anaesthesia.
The parole application was approved and she left the jail at 2 p.m. Officials said she has been ordered to return to the jail on November 8. “This is her first parole application and the case seems serious,” said a prison official.
