New Delhi, Sept. 1 -- Scholar activist Anand Teltumbde, an accused in the 2017 Elgar Parishad(EP) - Bhima Koregaon case, who spent nearly 31 months inside Taloja jail, has penned his prison memoir in his book The Cell and the Soul published by Bloomsbury India(releasing on September 2). Teltumbde, offers an insider's account of life behind bars. He also chronicles his conversations with co-accused Fr. Stan Swamy, who died in custody after repeated bail pleas were denied. Lodged in one of the infamous Anda cells (the high-security egg-shaped units), Teltumbde has written how the cells are actually a showpiece area, with fewer prisoners(unlike the crowded prison), and superior in many ways. Prisoners such as Ajmal Kasab, Abdul Karim Telgi, Arun Gawli, Indian Mujahideen accused Qateel Siddiqui have in the past been lodged in Anda cells. The National Investigation Agency(NIA) has accused Teltumbde, accused number 10, of having links to Communist Party of India(Maoist), and convening the infamous 2017 Elgar Parishad case which led to the Bhima Koregaon violence. In his book, Teltumbde has mentioned about a notorious don in the Anda cell, who paid a cut to the prison officials. "The don's influence extended within the prison walls. Guards treated him with deference, and he often shared his abundant canteen supplies - fruits, drinks and syrups - with us and the jail staff," he said in the book. Teltumbde, also grandson-in-law of Dalit icon BR Ambedkar, has not revealed the don's name but mentioned that the unassuming Kannadiga man was a well-known figure in the world of crime. Teltumbde in a chapter titled "We Lost Stan" has written how prison authorities refused to help the elderly Jesuit priest, suffering from Parkinson's, with basic items such as a straw and winter clothes. He has mentioned how it took an almost two month old legal battle to get the basic items. "Stan had multiple issues in prison due to his health condition. He could not even hold a glass of water steady to drink from. Outside, he told us he used a sipper bottle and straw to drink water, but they were disallowed by the prison staff when he was brought to Taloja." Accusing prison authorities of underreporting Covid-19 cases and prisoners recovering on their own, Teltumbde said Stan too had contracted the virus but the prison authorities denied this. Teltumbde's book also mentions how two men, arrested in an infamous case of defrauding 17 banks in a multi crore scam, used their clout to tweak rules with the help of a don. "Every evening, they would walk to the telephone room and have relaxed conversations with their families. The don mediated their access to the jail authorities, and money took care of the rest," he said in the book....