20-year-old arrested in robbery case dies in Tihar after a fistfight with inmate

The fistfight between two Tihar jail inmates which led to the death of Samir Khan was captured on CCTV. Khan was taken to the jail dispensary and later the Deen Dayal Upadhyay hospital where he was declared brought dead on August 22

NEW DELHI: A 20-year-old undertrial arrested in a 2021 robbery case died during a fisticuff with another prisoner at Tihar jail on Monday morning, people aware of the matter said.

A spokesperson for Tihar central jail said a 20-year-old suspect in a robbery case died on Monday after two inmates came to blows. (Vipin Kumar/HT Archive)

The provocation for the fistfight isn’t clear, which, a Tihar jail spokesperson said, was captured by the jail’s close circuit television camera. The prison department identified the deceased as Samir Khan, a resident of outer Delhi’s Bhalswa Dairy, who was arrested in a 2021 robbery case.

The jail spokesperson said the incident took place near their cell at about 9am on August 22.

“The CCTV footage shows the two prisoners engaged in a fisticuff. They exchanged a few punches. Khan is seen collapsing on the ground. he was taken to the jail dispensary, which referred him to the DDU hospital where doctors declared him brought dead. His family has been informed. Inquest proceeding is being conducted by a magistrate. The entire incident has been captured on CCTV,” the jail spokesperson said.

All deaths whether natural or unnatural such as murder, suicide and drug overdose, which happen in the prison, have to be probed by a magistrate.

Jail officers said that as part of the magisterial enquiry, statements of eyewitnesses and others will also be recorded to investigate the provocation for the violent clash.

Officials suspect the prisoner may have suffered internal head injuries due to blows to his head during the clash. Doctors at DDU hospital did not spot any external visible injuries.

According to National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) statistics, 1,887 prisoners were reported to have died in jails across the country in 2020. Of the 1,887 deaths, only 189 were classified as unnatural deaths. Of all the reported unnatural deaths, there were 156 suicide cases.

In Delhi’s three prison complexes - -Tihar, Rohini and Mandoli - there were 28 natural and 20 unnatural deaths in 2020.