80 police officials of Tihar Jail have been transferred over the murder of gangster Tillu Tajpuriya inside the jail by his inmates. Five Deputy Superintendents, nine Assistant Superintendents, eight Head Wardens, and 50 Wardens were among the officers who were transferred, according to Tihar jail officials, as reported by the news agency ANI. Tajpuriya was allegedly stabbed "92 times" by four members of the rival Gogi gang – Deepak alias Titar, Yogesh alias Tunda, Rajesh, and Riyaz Khan, news agency PTI reported citing police officials.
Earlier in May, a Delhi court granted police custody for four days of four accused arrested for their alleged involvement in the murder of Tillu Tajpuriya in Tihar jail. Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court pulled up the jail officials for failing to stop the murder inside the prison complex and raised concerns regarding the recovery of four knives within the premises of the jail.
The court asked why no preventive or remedial action was taken by authorities when the incident occurred, considering that the entire event was captured on the CCTV cameras installed on jail premises.
“This is totally an unacceptable state of affairs. The security of every prisoner is on the respondent (government) and the court is unable to comprehend if the entire incident was captured in CCTV installed in jail, why no steps were taken when the incident was happening,” the court said, as per the Live Law.
Justice Jasmeet Singh issued notice to the Director General of Prisons (Delhi), Delhi government, and Commissioner of Police on a petition filed by Tajpuriya’s father and brother seeking an investigation by the CBI into the “brutal murder” inside Tihar Jail premises on May 2.
The petitioners, represented by senior advocate Maninder Singh, said they are DTC drivers and sought adequate security for themselves. The high court directed the Delhi Police to ensure the safety and security of both the petitioners, who are the father and brother of the deceased, and listed the matter for further hearing on May 25.
It directed the Tihar jail authorities to file an affidavit as to how four knives were found in prison and asked the jail superintendent concerned to be present in the court on the next date of hearing.
A CCTV video from Tihar Jail which emerged on social media purportedly showed Tajpuriya being attacked in front of security personnel and also when being carried away after being stabbed. Inside the high-security prison on Tuesday morning, Tajpuriya was assaulted with improvised weapons by members of the Gogi gang. According to the CCTV footage, he was still alive and was being carried away by prison security personnel when the accused attacked him for the second time.
In the footage, it appears that the security personnel are mute spectators while the assailants kept repeatedly attacking the gangster. According to jail officials, seven personnel of the Tamil Nadu Special Police (TNSP), who were on duty at a Tihar prison cell when Tajpuriya was stabbed to death, have been suspended following the incident.