In contrast to their corporate seven-star lifestyle, the five top telecom honchos, sent to Tihar jail yesterday in connection with the 2G spectrum scam, spent the night in a crowded 90 square feet prison cell that they shared with other inmates.

Swan Telecom Director Vinod Goenka, Unitech Wireless (Tamil Nadu) Ltd Managing Director Sanjay Chandra, and three top officials of Reliance ADA Group -- Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair were sent to the jail last evening after their bail pleas were rejected by a Delhi court.

"They had the usual prison food for lunch and dinner-- dal, roti, sabzi and chawal -- and after that they were sent to their respective cells. They share cells with other inmates as the jail is already overcrowded. They slept on the floor as their co-inmates do," a jail official claimed.

Jail sources said the five did not speak to anyone and remained confined to themselves. "They looked very sad. It seems they felt really bad being here," a source said.

The telcom honchos however took a round of the particular section they were lodged in.

Incidentally, they shared the bathroom with other inmates and had to wait for their turn.

For the breakfast today, they walked down to the jail canteen and bought food. However, sources could not say what exactly they bought.