NEW DELHI: The killing of dreaded gangster Tillu Tajpuriya in Delhi’s Tihar Jail on Tuesday marks the second such incident inside the high security prison in less than a month.
In April this year, Prince Tewatia, a Lawrance Bishnoi gang member, was killed in a gang war inside Tihar Jail. Lodged in Jail number 3, Tewatia was stabbed five to seven times before he succumbed to his injuries in Delhi’s Deen Dayal Hospital.
Sunil Balyan alias Tajpuriya was the main accused in the Rohini court shootout case in September 2021 which left his friend-turned-rival gangster Jitender Maan alias Gogi dead. The shooters, alleged associates of Tajpuriya had came dressed in lawyers clothes and gunned Gogoi dead inside a courtroom in Rohini court. The two gunmen were immediately shot dead by the police team.
Tajpuriya, a resident of Delhi and who headed the infamous Tillu gang, was arrested in 2016 for mutliple crimes and had been in jail ever since.
According to prison officials, Tajpuriya was lodged on the ground floor of Tihar’s high-security ward and was attacked by four inmates alleged to be affiliated with the rival Gogi gang. Members of the rival gang namely Deepak Teeter, Yogesh alias Tunda, Rajesh and Riyaz Khan had around 6:15 am cut open the iron grill installed on the first floor of the ward using an improvised saw. According to a prison official the accused were lodged on the first floor of the same ward and they used an iron rod to attack Tajpuriya.
“The Gogi gang members were lodged on the first floor of the high-security ward from where they cut open the security grill and jumped onto the ground floor using bedsheets,” prison officials said.
According to a source, the Jitendra Gogi gang had also provided automatic pistols to kill Tillu Tajpuria and the same guns were used to kill gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf. “This disclosure was made by the shooters in front of the Special Task Force (STF),” the source told ANI.
The attack on Tillu Tajpuria in Tihar is raising many questions at a time when the STF is interrogating the three shooters and connecting the links of Atiq Ashraf’s murder.
Meanwhile, after today’s attack, Tajpuriya was rushed to Delhi’s Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, where he was declared brought dead, the official added. Another inmate identified as Rohit suffered injuries in the attack but is said to be out of danger.
Additional deputy police commissioner (west) Akshat Kaushal said “This morning around 7 am, information was received from DDU Hospital regarding two undertrial prisoners who were brought to the hospital from Tihar Jail. One of them, Sunil alias Tilu was brought into an unconscious state. He was declared brought dead later. Another person, Rohit is undergoing treatment and is out of danger,” Akshat Kaushal said.
Tajpuriya and his gang’s rivalry with another gang led by notorious gangster, Jitender Gogi dates back to 2009 when the pair were friends but supported different candidates in elections in Swami Shraddhanand College in Outer Delhi.
The attack on Tillu Tajpuria in Tihar raises many questions at a time when the STF is interrogating the three shooters of Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf and connecting the links to their murder.
In April this year blows were exchanged and improvised knives were used as Tewatia his men fought a pitched battle with inmates led by a criminal, Attaur Rehman alias Attwa, who allegedly works with the Rohit Chaudhary-Ravi Gangwal gangs. At least five inmates including Tewatia had sustained injuries and were rushed to DDU hospital where Teotia was declared dead.
Earlier, another undertrial in Tihar jail named Dilsher Azad, who had been lodged in the Delhi Jail since September 2019 was attacked to death in November 2020 by three other under trial prisoners using an improvised sharp object.
In a status report filed in Delhi court, the Tihar Jail briefly informed the court that on November 30, 2020 a lockout was done in the morning. The Jail staff on duty heard a noise from Ward No 9 and immediately the on-duty staff rushed to the spot and saw that deceased UTP (Under Trial Prisoner)
Dilsher was being grappled by another UTP Ved Prakash and he was being attacked by two others, namely Naushad and Faizal Alam with a handmade improvised sharp-edged object.
It further said that added that Dilsher was immediately rushed to the Jail hospital where he was declared brought dead by the Medical Officer on duty. (ANI)