Ankit Gujjar murder witnesses safe, prisons chief tells Delhi high court

The status report was filed in response to a petition by the five inmates of Tihar Jail who sought directions to ensure their safety as well as to restrain the authorities from “threatening/coercing/injuring them with a view to prevent them from seeking justice for themselves and the deceased inmate”

The city prison authorities on Monday told the Delhi high court that steps have been taken to provide protection to the inmates, who are witnesses in the alleged murder of gangster Ankit Gujjar in Tihar jail.

The petitioners, represented by advocate Mehmood Pracha, claimed to be eyewitnesses to the allegedly “brutal murder” of Ankit Gujjar. Gujjar, 29, was found dead in his jail cell on August 4. (Sourced)

In a status report, Director General (Prisons) told justice Mukta Gupta that the inmates would be kept under CCTV surveillance, and that their every move was being monitored closely.

The status report was filed in response to a petition by the five inmates of Tihar Jail who sought directions to ensure their safety as well as to restrain the authorities from “threatening/coercing/injuring them with a view to prevent them from seeking justice for themselves and the deceased inmate”.

The petitioners, represented by advocate Mehmood Pracha, claimed to be eyewitnesses to the allegedly “brutal murder” of Gujjar. Gujjar, 29, was found dead in his jail cell on August 4.

Earlier this month, the court, which has transferred the investigation from Delhi police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), sought a status report from the prison authority on the steps being taken to ensure the safety and security of the witnesses.

Two of the petitioners, it was claimed, were the co-inmates of the deceased, and also victims of the same assault while the other three witnessed the alleged assault on Gujjar by prison officials.

Justice Gupta, noting the stand, said no further court orders are called for on the petition.

The status report said, “Two CCTV cameras are installed inside their (two inmates) cell and 24x7 footage of the cell is being closely monitored by the officials whenever inmates are locked out from their cell, they are escorted by two Tamil Nadu special police personnel. Two CCTV cameras are installed inside the barrack and one camera is installed out the gallery (for the third inmate).”

HT reported on September 4 that according to a prison report, between 9.30am on August 3 and 4.50pm on August 4, the time when top Uttar Pradesh gangster Ankit Gujjar got into a scuffle with jail officers and was found unconscious in another part of the prison, CCTV cameras inside ward 1 and 5A of Tihar jail 3 were switched off for “maintenance work”.