'Dirty plates, mosquitoes and more'; Veena S Nair opens up about her time in jail

Congress leader and anchor Veena S Nair has spoken about the hardships she faced during her time in jail. Speaking in an interview with a YouTube channel, Veena opened up about intrusive body checks and inadequate basic amenities in jail.

“When you go to jail, you need clothes. They are brought from home but can only be collected at fixed times. Every single item is inspected before being handed over. I wasn’t in jail for smuggling, drugs, or any crime — this is a democratic country, and I was jailed for participating in a protest. Still, they carried out a full body search, which I felt was extremely primitive.

Airports have advanced screening systems that can detect even gold hidden on the body, yet such intrusive searches are still done in jails. I found it very unpleasant. The plates and glasses given to us were dirty; I refused to eat until they replaced them, and eventually, the superintendent arranged for clean ones.

What disturbed me the most were the body searches and the way every piece of clothing brought in for us was checked. The system should uphold basic human rights. Another miserable experience was that the cell lights stayed on all night. Though they may have had their reasons, there were no proper sheets or beds, and mosquitoes were everywhere. I couldn’t sleep — just as I would drift off, the mosquito bites would wake me up.

During the protest, I had suffered cuts and injuries on my hands and legs from falling on tarred roads. Even after eight hours at the police station, I was not taken to the hospital. MLA Siddique and others came to see us and protested, demanding that we be taken to the hospital,” Veena S Nair said.