‘Killers ran extortion ring, repeatedly punished in jail’

New Delhi: In the 15 years that they have been behind bars, the killers of journalist Soumya Vishwanathan haven’t been ideal prisoners. From being repeatedly punished for creating nuisance in jail to running an extortion ring from within the prison, the men have been a headache for the jail administration, according to sources.
There were times when the convicts even got the administration to provide them dry fruits and energy drinks, said investigators.
The extortion ring run by Ravi Kapoor and associates was unearthed when the cops put two mobile numbers in the list for interception after inputs that they were being used by gangsters. The intercepted calls revealed that Amit Shukla, then lodged in Tihar’s Jail No. 3, had been contacting a businessman in Vaishali named Rajender to extort Rs 1 lakh a month from him.
Police also arrested a jail compounder named Arun, who disclosed that while working as a dispensary compounder in Tihar, he had come in contact with Kapoor and company and joined their gang. Arun had procured the mobile phone using which the extortion calls were made.
According to prison sources, Kapoor has been punished over 50 times for mischief and nuisance since being incarcerated in 2009.
Kapoor and Shukla had also exploited their legal rights as prisoners to the fullest and got the authorities to provide them dry fruits, almonds, dates, energy drinks and protein supplements to build muscles — as prescribed by a Unani doctor. Kapoor got Protinex to help build muscles, while Shukla was prescribed 4-5 almonds and dates daily by the doctor.
The racket was busted after an enquiry was conducted by jail authorities a few years ago. A jail circular issued after that read: “It has come to notice that the department of Unani/ayurveda and other medical units are prescribing dry fruits and other supplements to prisoners lodged in high security wards as well as general wards without taking the concurrence of the RMO/jail superintendents despite the fact that the possession/consumption of these items is otherwise not allowed for the prisoners lodged in Delhi prisons.”
The gang had also formed a nexus with jail doctors not only to have the choice of food “prescribed” but also for arranging trips out of jail. Taking advantage of this nexus, Kapoor attempted to get parole or bail on a number of occasions, claiming to be suffering from AIDS and other ailments. On some occasions, he claimed he had to take care of his ailing parents and re-establish family ties.
Delhi Police opposed Kapoor's pleas each time, pointing out that he would flee if released on short parole. The cops cited his bad conduct in jail besides his extortion calls to back their opposition to his pleas for release.