Jailed gangster Sunil Mann aka Tillu Tajpuriya was killed after he was attacked by four inmates of a rival gang in Delhi’s Tihar jail on Tuesday morning.
Tajpuriyaan was named the mastermind of the September 2021 shootout at Delhi’s Rohini Court that left his friend-turned-rival gangster Jitender Maan dead. Gunmen dressed as lawyers killed Jitender Maan, alias Gogi, inside a courtroom before police shot dead the two assailants.
Police said Tajpuriya’s attackers were lodged on the first floor of the high-security ward. They cut the grill and came to the ground floor where Tajpuriya was lodged using bedsheets. Another inmate identified as Rohit suffered injuries in Tuesday’s attack but was said to be out of danger.
Delhi prisons chief Sanjay Baniwal said Deepak alias Titar, 31, Yogesh alias Tunda, 30, Rajesh, 42, and Riyaz Khas, 39, lodged on the first floor of the same high-risk ward attacked Tajpuriya around 6.15 am.
“They cut the iron grill installed on the first floor of the ward and used [the bar as] an improvised ice pick. Tillu was injured and rushed to Deep Dayal Upadhyaya [DDU] Hospital after the required medical attention at the jail. Tajpuriya died during treatment at the DDU hospital,” said Baniwal.
Additional deputy police commissioner (west) Akshat Kaushal said they were told that two under-trial prisoners were admitted to DDU Hospital with injuries from Tihar Jail. “One of them, Sunil alias Tilu was brought [to the hospital] in an unconscious state. He was later declared dead. Another inmate, Rohit is undergoing treatment and is out of danger.”
A second jail official said Tajpuriya, who was lodged in jail number 8-9, was attacked when barracks were opened in the morning. “…Tajpuriya was stabbed with the road,” said the jail official, requesting not to be named.
Sunil Maan alias Tillu Tajpuriya,33, was immediately taken to Delhi’s Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, where he was declared brought dead.
Who was Sunil Maan alias Tillu Tajpuriya?
1. A local of Tajpur village near Alipur in Delhi, Tillu Tajpuriya was arrested in 2016 for multiple crimes and since then he has been in jail.
2. In September 2021, Tajpuriya was allegedly involved in the murder of Jitender Maan alias Gogi in a shootout inside a courtroom at Rohini Courts complex.
Earlier, Supreme Court called for a report from the Union Home Secretary in 3 weeks providing an action plan for the “sorry state of affairs” at Tihar.
A bench of Justices Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and MR Shah said, “We had recently read about deaths and suicides at Tihar Jail. It is a sorry state of affairs at Tihar. The Centre cannot wait till something happens. You have to do something immediately.”
The judges also said that they have read media reports of incidents of brutality in the jail, including murders. “This is unacceptable,” they said. Stressing the need for urgent reforms, the court directed the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Secretary to take necessary steps for reforms. The court asked the MHA to place an action plan before it. “Neither has any action plan been placed before us nor any info on the steps that have been taken. We do not find this acceptable,” it said.