Behind Bars

If you steal 1,000 rupees, the hawaldar will beat the shit out of you and lock you up in a dungeon with no bulb or ventilation. If you steal 55,000 crore rupees then you get to stay in a 40-foot cell which has four split units, internet, fax, mobile phones and a staff of ten to clean your shoes and cook your food (in case it is not being delivered from Hyatt that particular day).' They say that prison can be a great leveller but does this apply if you are a VIP inmate in an Indian prison? Maybe not. Based on extensive first-hand interviews with some of India's most well-known inmates, award-winning journalist Sunetra Choudhury gives you a peek into the VIP prison life. What does Peter Mukerjea do all day in his 4 x 4 cell? How does a 70-year-old Doon school alumnus who has spent more than 7 years in jail find a will to continue petitioning the state and fight his cases? Who came to visit Amar Singh during those four fateful days, determining his future friends and allies? For the first time, India's most famous prisoners share their stories from terror tales of bladebaaz' to torture chambers, from air conditioners in cells to food from five-star hotels, from cushy beds to private parties and how they negotiate life in prison or the so-called jail-ashram'. With unbelievable details of the life inside prison and the sorry state of hundreds of undertrials languishing in jails, this book questions the primary purpose of imprisonment is it actually reform, punishment or misusing the system we are a part of?

About the Author

Sunetra Choudhury started her career at The Indian Express in 1999, as a metro reporter. In 2000, as a recognition of her abilities she was sent for Japan’s Foreign Press Centre Fellowship by the paper. She became Indian Express’ youngest Deputy Chief Reporter at 24 and also brought out Newsline, the pull-out city section. In 2002, Sunetra joined the launch team of Star News, a 24-hour Hindi news channel. Within a year, she moved to NDTV. After the success of one of her assignments at NDTV, covering the 2009 election campaign, she authored Braking News.

Sunetra anchors a daily, audience-based show called Agenda – the only out-of-studio show of its kind – and a primetime show on student leaders and elections. In April 2016, she got the Red Ink award for her story on how Indians were adopting disabled children.