Eight prison staff suspended over stabbing of gangster Tajpuriya inside Tihar Jail

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government’s Prisons department on Friday suspended eight Tihar Jail staff members in connection with the fatal stabbing of gangster Tillu Tajpuriya on the premises, officials said.

Tajpuriya was killed early on Tuesday allegedly by four members of the rival Gogi gang — Deepak alias Titar, Yogesh alias Tunda, Rajesh, and Riyaz Khan — who stabbed him “92 times”.

A senior Prisons department official said they conducted a departmental inquiry based on which eight staff members were suspended.

The officer had earlier said, “The report was received on Friday and lapses were found on the part of nine staff members. Out of them, seven — three assistant superintendents and four warders — have been suspended.

“We had a meeting with officials of the Tamil Nadu Special Police and they have also agreed to take departmental action against their personnel.”

The Tamil Nadu Special Police provides security on the jail premises.

Sources said Tihar Jail Director-General Sanjay Beniwal met Lt Governor VK Saxena and presented him a detailed report on the stabbing.

A fresh CCTV video from Tihar Jail emerged on social media purportedly showing Tajpuriya being attacked in front of security personnel as well when they were carrying him away after he was stabbed.

Tajpuriya was assaulted with improvised weapons by the Gogi gang members inside the high security prison on Tuesday morning. But he was still alive and was being carried away by the prison security personnel when the accused attacked him for a second time, according to the fresh footage.

The footage shows security personnel were in a corridor when the accused barged in through the door and again attacked Tajpuriya. He could be seen moving his leg in the video, confirming he was alive at that time. In the footage, it appears that the security personnel remained a bystander while the assailants keep attacking the gangster. (PTI)