Trinamul Congress’s Rajya Sabha member Saket Gokhale, who was in Sabarmati jail in Gujarat in a case of alleged misuse of crowdfunded money, on Wednesday recounted his ordeal and the condition of undertrials in what he called the “dark underbelly of our democracy”.

The prisoners facing trial are kept in extreme hardship in the jail without adequate food, legal aid and security, Gokhale said in the Upper House during Zero Hour. Gokhale said he never got dal and rice for lunch or dinner during his six months in the jail.

Nearly 77 per cent of India’s prisoners are undertrials who are technically innocent unless proven guilty.

“What a day of an undertrial prisoner looks like? They are woken up at 6 o’clock in the morning, with guards coming in and kicking them with their boots. After that, lunch is served at 9 o’clock in the morning. Dinner is served at 3 o’clock in the afternoon,” he said.

“And what is dinner? It is two rotis and the rotis are cement. You have to soak them in water for 30 minutes to make them edible. It is accompanied by a bowl of boiled potatoes with mirchi powder on it. This food is unfit for human consumption but that is what is given,” Gokhale said.

After dinner at 3pm, the undertrials don’t get any food till 9 o’clock the next morning. In a barrack meant for 40 people, 80-85 people are kept, he said.

“The standard solution (for a problem brought by a prisoner) for any prison guard is very simple. When a prisoner comes with a concern, they tie him to a pole and beat him for 15 minutes so that he never opens his mouth again,” he said.

The majority of undertrials in the jail are there for petty offences. Citing the example of another inmate in his barrack, Gokhale said the prisoner was there for two years because he stole a Rs 30 pouch of milk. He had to languish in jail for more than two years because he did not have Rs 500 for bail, he said.

“Sexual assault is rampant. Patients with mental health issues are kept with other prisoners. They get bullied and sexually abused. Prison guards turn a blind eye to it,” he said.

Legal aid for the poor undertrials is nearly nil, he said.

“Legal aid is non-existent because there are 10 legal aid lawyers in one prison for 3,000 undertrial prisoners. How can they serve all? To get to a lawyer, it takes six months. Majority of the prisoners are Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes,” he said.

Members of most of the Opposition parties supported Gokhale. However, a member from the Treasury benches tried to obstruct Gokhale from speaking but deputy chairman Harivansh did not allow him.