NEW DELHI: An inmate was bludgeoned to death and eight were injured in a clash on Friday in the high-security Tihar Central Jail here. A judicial inquiry has been initiated to ascertain what exactly led to the violence.
The incident took place around 5.30 a.m. when an altercation broke out between inmates lodged in barracks of Jail No. 1 inside the Tihar Complex. What followed was a free-for-all in the open area inside the jail premises during which the prisoners attacked each other with wooden logs.
Hearing the commotion, jail wardens rushed to the spot and alerted security. However, by the time the security personnel could bring the situation under control, nine of the inmates had sustained injuries. “They were taken to the jail dispensary and three of them were then referred to Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Hospital,” said Director-General (Prisons) Vimla Mehra.
Of the three one, identified as Javed (27), later succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. He was a resident of Seelampur in North-East Delhi. According to jail authorities, he had served the entire sentence in a dacoity case and was facing trial in another one. He was lodged in the jail for the past seven years.
The Tihar Director-General said the other two were later discharged and brought back to the barracks.
Preliminary investigations have indicated that the clash was as a result of an ongoing enmity between Javed and some other inmates. “On several occasions in the past, Javed was involved in clashes with other inmates while being transported from the jail premises to court. He had used sharp blades to attack fellow inmates,” a jail officer said.
While the family members of Javed have been informed about his death, the police said his post-mortem would be conducted by a board of doctors as per the standard operating procedure. “We received information about the incident around 8.45 a.m. The jail authorities lodged a complaint with the area police station around 1.30 p.m. Subsequently, the process for registration of the case was initiated,” said a police officer.
