Bengaluru: As the two factions of the AIADMK unite and keep Sasikala Natarajan, the once powerful aide and wannabe successor to former chief minister Jayalalitha, out of the party she wanted to run, Deccan Chronicle has learnt that Parapanna Agrahara’s most famed convict now wants to brush up her language skills. Prison sources said the doughty head of the Mannargudi clan, approached prison officials at the Bengaluru Central Prison to get her an English tutor in jail.

Unlike Jayalalitha, who was fluent in English and Tamil, Sasikala who ran a video parlour until she caught her mentor’s eye, reads and understands only Tamil, and is restricted to a couple of Tamil newspapers provided to her in her cell for news on developments at home. Parapanna Agrahara’s newest convict Ilavarasi, sister-in-law and co-convict of Sasikala’s in the disproportionate assets case has reportedly fallen ill and has approached the prison hospital to refer her to a private hospital in Bengaluru for diagnosis and treatment.

Official sources said, the prison officials asked her to first get her diagnosis done at the government-owned Victoria Hospital as per prison protocol. “On Wednesday morning, Ilavarasi’s blood samples were collected and sent to Victoria Hospital. Depending upon the pathology reports, further action will be taken. If needed, she may be referred to a private hospital,”said the officer. Ilavarasi — convict number 3296 — had reportedly complained of weakness and loss of appetite to the prison doctors. She is lodged with Ms Sasikala (convict number 3295) in a prison cell in Bengaluru Central Prison at Parapanna Agrahara.