Iron bars bent, spoons turned into knives in war inside Tihar
The shocking murder of the gangster came in less than 20 days of the killing of another criminal by some of his old friends who had parted ways with him
The murder of gangster Tillu Tajpuria inside jail number 8 of Tihar prisons has once again raised a question mark on the security and safety arrangements in what is arguably south Asia’s largest prison complex.
Read here: Rival gang members kill gangster Tillu Tajpuriya in Delhi’s Tihar Jail
The shocking murder of the gangster came in less than 20 days of the killing of another criminal, Prince Tewatia, who swore allegiance to Lawrence Bishnoi -- a suspect in the murder of Punjab Congress leader and singer Sidhu Moosewala -- by some of his old friends who had parted ways with him.
The initial investigation into the incident has shown that as soon as the cells were opened in the morning, the four suspects bent the iron bars of the railing that separated the first floor inmates from those lodged in the cells on the ground floor, used bedsheets to climb down, had steel spoons sharpened as knives, stormed Tajpuria’s cell and stabbed him and one of his cell mates. By the time the jail security officials reacted, Tajpuria had already been stabbed nearly 100 times.
At every step, the incident betrays serious lapses in security inside the prison.
Separation of rival gangs
According to senior police officers, Tillu Tajpuria was shifted from Mandoli jail to Tihar nearly a month ago. Within days of his transfer, gangster Prince Tewatia was stabbed to death inside the jail by his friend-turned-foe Attaur Rehman alias Atwa and Vinay Sharma following a fight.
Despite being aware of the rivalry between Tajpuria and members of Jitender Gogi’s gang, he was kept in jail number 8 along with members of the Gogi gang. Tajpuria had allegedly conspired and planned the murder of Gogi in Rohini Court complex in September 2021.
Jail officials, however, said that it was not always possible for them to keep members of rival gangs in separate jails. “We have 16 jails to accommodate members of over 160 gangs. It is not possible to lodge members of all gangs separately. Also, these criminals keep changing their allegiance from one gang to another, so it becomes difficult to decide who is on whose side. The gang wars may not stop, as members of Tajpuria’s gang will seek revenge on his killers,” said a senior jail official, asking not to be named.
No live monitoring of surveillance footage
Monitoring of feeds from surveillance cameras is another issue. HT had reported how during the alleged scuffle between UP gangster Ankit Gujjar and the jail staff in 2021, the CCTV cameras were shut.
On Tuesday, though the cameras were working but there was no live monitoring of the footage that could have alerted the jail staff about the movement of the four assailants.
Tihar officials admitted that there is no dedicated team to keep a watch on the activities of the prisoners in real time through CCTVs. “We don’t have trained video analysts for the purpose,” said a second jail official.
According to the initial probe into the incident, the four assailants bent the iron railing on first floor around 6.15am, and entered Tajpuria’s cell around 6.20am. However, the warders got the information about the incident only at 6.25am. Tajpuria and his cell-mate Rohit, who was also attacked and stabbed, were taken to the hospital around 6.30am.
Asked about the delayed response by the security staff, Sanjay Baniwal, director general prisons, said, “We will have to check the response time from the security personnel.”
Weapons remained undetected
According to investigators, steel spoons sharpened as knives were used to brutally stab Tajpuria. However, the jail staff failed to check how despite a strict bar on the items that a prisoner can carry, the four assailants managed to keep or procure the improvised weapons to execute their plan to murder Tajpuria.
Read here: Who was Tillu Tajpuriya — Delhi gangster killed in Tihar jail?
Baniwal said that the gangsters in Tihar use different methods to get these items. “An inmate is not allowed to wear shoes behind bars. But citing medical reasons, they get approval by the court. They usually hide blades or thin sharp weapons inside the sole of their shoes. There are dozens of instances when surgical blades, narcotics, smartphones and SIM cards were recovered from the possession of the prisoners. Some of these items are even thrown into the prison from the behind the walls. As far as availability of improvised weapons with the gangsters is concerned, the jail staff conducts regular checks. But one must not lose sight of the fact that there are over 22,000 inmates with us,” he said.
Lack of maintenance
When pointed out that the inmates were able to climb down from the first floor by bending the bars of the iron grill installed in the lobby, Baniwal admitted that several structures in jail need repairs.
“Inmates often use metal bars used in jail buildings as weapons. We try to ensure that inmates do not go near construction sites because they could pick up material that they could later use against their rivals,” Baniwal said.
Intelligence failure
Tuesday’s incident also showed a complete failure of intelligence on part of the police officers investigating different gangs. Within minutes, the four assailants reached their target and killed him with clock work accuracy, showing that they followed an elaborate plan. Also, there was no threat assessment by the jail officials who allowed Tajpuria to be lodged inside the same jail where members of the Gogi gang were kept.
Baniwal said that they have decide to create database of gangs and their members to ensure that in future a proper assessment could be done to check threat perception to notorious gangsters such as Tajpuria.
“Taking lessons from the recent incidents, we have decided to create a database of the inmates and their gangs, with the help of Delhi Police. Also, the deployment of personnel from Tamil Nadu Special Police Force (TNSPF) in jail security will be reassessed to avert any such mishap in future,” the DG said.
What expert says
Vikram Singh, former director general of police, Uttar Pradesh, said the incident raises serious questions about the security apparatus inside country’s largest prison. He said that at least those with a clear history of rivalry should have been kept separate.
Read here: Gangster Tillu Tajpuriya, accused in Delhi's Rohini court shootout, killed in Tihar jail
“This kind of depravity and gang warfare in the highest security jail is totally unacceptable. It raises important questions about the security apparatus in Tihar. I wish we draw our lessons now and get a case registered. The delinquent staff must be dismissed from service. Technical surveillance through CCTVs must be enhanced, and use of latest technologies in jail security should be ensured. Every single hole in the security must be plugged immediately,” he said.
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