Tihar Jail murder: Eight prison staff suspended, inquiry initiated

New Delhi, May 5 (IANS) Three days after the brutal murder of gangster Tillu Tajpuriya a.k.a Sunil Maan inside the high-security Tihar Jail, the Director-General (Prison) has suspended three assistant superintendents, four wardens and another staff member, sources said on Friday.

Department inquiries have also been initiated against three wardens even as DG Sanjay Baniwal instructed action to be taken against the commander of the Tamil Nadu Special Police Force under whose command nine personnel served, who were in the prison ward at the time of incident.

"The prison department has initiated action in the matter of Tillu Tajpuria's killing in which eight staff, including three assistant supritendents, of the prison department has been suspended," confirmed a prison spokesperson.

Recently, chilling CCTV footages surfaced showing the murder of Tajpuriya allegedly by the members of the notorious Jitender Gogi gang inside the high-security Tihar Jail on May 2 in the presence of prison officials, who appeared to be standing by without even intervening.

The incident took place within the sight of Tihar Jail officials, who seemed to be standing idle as mere spectators.

A new 2.36-minute-long video shows the attackers forcefully entering a separate area where prison officials were in the process of taking Tajpuriya to the hospital after the attack on him.

However, the assailants proceeded to viciously stab, kick, and punch Tajpuriya in a brutal attack aimed at ensuring his death, in front of a number of prison officials.

The disturbing footage has sparked significant concerns about the level of security within Tihar and the apparent lack of action on the part of the officials to quell the violence.

As per reports, Tajpuriya was stabbed over 90 times by the assailants.

Tajpuriya (33), a resident of Tajpur Kalan on the outskirts of Delhi, was lodged in Tihar Jail under tight security measures on the ground-floor of Jail No. 8.

"The prison staff revealed that Deepak a.k.a. Titar (31), Yogesh a.k.a. Gainda (30), Rajesh a.k.a. Tunda (42), and Riyaz Khan (39) had attacked Tajpuriya with improvised knives. When another inmate, Rohit, tried to intervene, he was also attacked and injured," Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (West), Akshat Kaushal said.

Tajpuriya was an accused in the 2021 Rohini court shootout in which gangster Jitender Gogi was killed.