Tihar jail security under spotlight after two prisoners killed within a month

File Photo/PTI

The killing of a second gangster in less than a month inside the Tihar jail here has once again put a serious question mark on the security at one of the largest prisons in Asia despite officials claiming they were implementing a detailed plan to avoid such incidents.

Sunil alias Tillu Tajpuriya (33), lodged on the ground floor of the high-security prison, was killed by members of the Gogi gang with an improvised weapon around 6.15 am on Tuesday.

The four attackers, lodged on the first floor, cut the iron grille installed there and used bed sheets to climb down to Tajpuriya's floor. Tajpuriya suffered multiple stab wounds and was declared dead by doctors at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, officials said.

On April 14, Prince Tewatia (33), an associate of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, was killed similarly in an early-morning attack inside the jail by rival gang members following an altercation with an inmate. An under-trial prisoner, he was lodged in ward no. 6 of the jail no. 3 which has around 380 inmates.

Officials claimed they were carrying out intensive searches in wards for improvised weapons and other illegal items, such as mobile phones, after the Tewatia incident. They were also maintaining a "strict vigil" through CCTV cameras.

Asked how an incident like this has happened again, a jail official said the attack was completed within one-and-a-half minutes and the assailants exploited "dark spots", where no cameras could see, to enter Tajpuriya's cell.

"They (attackers) did not enter the barrack directly, or else they would have been caught," he said.

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"When Tillu saw the attackers, he ran towards another inmate's cell. The inmate (named Rohit) also tried to save him... Everything happened within a span of one-and-a-half-minutes," he added.

Asked why cameras were not installed to cover the dark spots, the official said cameras are not installed in some areas, such as washrooms, to ensure privacy of the prisoners.

An inquiry has been ordered into the incident to find out the lapses, officials said.

They said they are working on a detailed plan to improve the response time in case of a clash between inmates and taking other steps to make security fool-proof inside the premises.

"Ever since the murder of gangster Prince Tewatia, there has been a strict order from the DG (Prison) to conduct intensive searches regularly to ensure no illegal activities take place inside the wards and barracks. Since the incident in April, we have been conducting regular checks in all jails in Delhi, especially where notorious criminals and rival gang members are lodged," said a jail official.

The Tamil Nadu Special Police Force and Central Reserve Police Force personnel have been tasked with carrying out these searches, which were intensified after Tewatia's killing, he said.

"We are also trying to reduce our response time and a detailed plan is being drafted," he said.

Police officers who have been involved in investigating cases related to these gangs opined that the rival gang members should not have been housed in the same compound knowing their history of rivalry.

"It is well known that these are hardened criminals who have been involved in multiple cases. They are not first-time criminals who will just sit and watch the game. Ideally, the members of Gogi gang should have been kept in a separate jail or could have been shifted to another jail complexes like Mandoli and Rohini," a senior police official said.

The official added the members of Gogi gang were thirsting for revenge ever since their gang leader Jitender Gogi was brutally killed in the Rohini court in a shootout in 2021. Tajpuriya was an accused in the killing of Gogi.

In the past, Tihar has been in the spotlight over jailed criminals and gangsters running extortion rackets from inside the prison. It is also alleged that the killing of Punjabi singer and Congress leader Sidhu Moose Wala was planned partly inside the Tihar jail.

According to officials, an inmate -- Ankit Gujjar (29) -- was found dead inside his cell in Tihar jail on August 4 in 2021. Later, a Delhi court had transferred the investigation into the death of Gujjar from Delhi Police to the CBI after opining that the deceased "lost his life in custodial violence". He was allegedly beaten to death by jail staffers after he resisted being shifted to another ward.

In 2022, the CBI had charged then deputy superintendent of Tihar prison Narender Meena with culpable homicide not amounting to murder in connection with the death of Gujjar. The agency had arrested Meena which was followed by five more arrests of Tihar prison officials.

In 2020, a prisoner in Tihar jail had stabbed another inmate to death allegedly to avenge the rape of his sister six years ago. Zakir (21) was stabbed by Mohammad Mehtab (27), a resident of Nizamuddin, inside Tihar jail. He was stabbed multiple times, including on his stomach and neck, by Zakir using a sharp metal object.

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