He was angry with media: jail source

An hour after he was pronounced guilty of murdering his brother Pramod Mahajan, Pravin coolly walked into the towering walls of Arthur Road prison and headed straight for ‘anda’ cell No 2.

“I knew this was coming,” he muttered as the police whisked him into prison around 3 pm on Monday. On entering his cell, he ignored the dinner that was waiting for him.

He woke up around 6 am, and browsing the newspapers, slumped into a foul mood. The relentless media pressure took its toll on him. Jail sources said he grumbled for more than an hour about the coverage (he had access to all newspapers, including the regional ones).

“Media acts irresponsibly. They exaggerate things to catch the fancy of the audience,” he told a jail official. Noticing the hordes of mediapersons jostling for space outside Arthur Road prison, waiting for him to be taken to court, he snapped, “Are those dogs at it again?”

 Soon after his breakfast, he walked out of his ‘anda’ cell and shook hands with fellow inmates. He had a chat with gangster DK Rao, reportedly telling him, “I know the verdict. I’m not scared.” He also spoke briefly to Abu Salem and Mustafa Dossa.

"He shook hands with every acquaintance who came his way," said a jail official.

s_poornima@dnaindia.net