Inspector General R.k. Sharma likely to be sentenced today

Suspended Inspector General of Police Ravi Kant Sharma, and three others, Pradeep Sharma, Sri Bhagwan and Satya Prakash have been found guilty in the case.

They are likely to be handed down either a death sentence or life imprisonment for killing a Delhi journalist, Shivani Bhatnagar, on January 23, 1999. The court has held 54-year-old Sharma as the main conspirator and Pradeep Sharma as her killer.

In case of a life term, here’s what the former cop’s routine could be on the other side of the bars.

After the quantum of punishment is announced, Sharma will be moving to another jail in the Tihar complex. His civilian clothes would have to give way to a white kurta pyjama, the leisure of deciding when to begin his day would be replaced by a strict routine.

Sharma’s PHD could save him from physical labour. In fact if a former Tihar DGP’s ideas are used, Sharma can keep himself occupied by teaching the children of the jail inmates.

“if I were heading Tihar right now, I would have really put to use his potential in the reformative process of the other prisoners. He could teach them,” Former IPS officer Kiran Bedi suggests.

Sharma will appeal against his conviction in the High Court, but till that comes up it would be tough to keep the morale high. That’s where recreation like, his favourite sport, badminton, would come in handy. Skills of meditation he has picked up over the last six years in jail can also hold the ex-IPS officer in good stead.

“He could teach French. He could also take up meditation classes,” Bedi adds.

Sharma has already said he wants to write a book on his experiences in Tihar, and having seen the prison from both sides of the bar literally, the book is bound to generate a lot of buzz.

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