Gangster Prince Tewatia killed in clash at Tihar, fellow gangster main suspect

Originally from Loni in Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, Prince Tewatia was involved in at least 16 serious crimes, including two murders and extortion.

In a suspect gang war inside Tihar Jail complex in west Delhi, 30-year-old jailed gangster, Prince Tewatia, was killed and at least three other inmates were injured after two groups clashed and attacked each other with sharp objects at jail number 3 on Friday evening, jail officials said, and added that the injured inmates were admitted to a government hospital.

Prince Tewatia used to associate himself with Lawrence Bishnoi, the gangster who is the main suspect in the Sidhu Moosewala murder case. (HT Photo)

One of the groups was led by Attaur Rehman alias Atwa,26, who is suspected to have attacked Tewatia, with a sharp weapon, which he may have prepared using a metallic object inside the jail, said police officers, aware of the violence inside one of the largest prison complexes in the world (according to Tihar Prisons website).

Though there is no official record, Tewatia used to claim association with Lawrence Bishnoi -- the gangster who is the prime suspect in the murder of Punjab Congress leader Sidhu Moosewala.

The exact sequence of events leading to the clash could not be ascertained till late Friday.

Originally from Loni in Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, Tewatia was involved in at least 16 serious crimes, including two murders and extortion. He was last arrested in November 2022 from near Chhawla-Najafgarh drain by the crime branch of Delhi Police.

Police officers said Rehman and Tewatia were friends and had emerged from the same gang that was once led Shakti Naidu. The officers said they were investigating the reasons behind and the clash. They added that Rehman could possibly be acting at the behest of Tewatia’s friend-turned-foe, Rohit Chaudhary, a gangster from south Delhi who is also lodged in Tihar jail.

“We have learnt that Tewatia had been planning to kill Chaudhary, and had sought help from Lawrence Bishnoi. When Chaudhary learnt about it, he got a close aid of Tewatia killed. Tewatia suspected Rehman of betraying him. There are rumours that Rehman was win over by Chaudhary when the former came out of jail on parole recently. All angles will now be probed,” said a Delhi Police Special Cell officer, who asked not to be named.

A Tihar Prisons spokesperson said that the scuffle took place around 5.30pm in ward number 6, where nearly 380 inmates are lodged.

“During the scuffle, Tewatia was injured (with improvised sharp edged objects) along with three other inmates named Bobby, Attaur Rehman and Vinay. The jail staff immediately intervened and the injured inmates were separated and rushed to jail hospital from where they were referred to Deen Dayal Upadhyay hospital, where Tewatia was declared brought dead. The other three are recuperating and their condition is stable. A judicial magistrate is conducting an inquiry,” the spokesperson said.

Additional deputy commissioner of police (west) Akshat Kaushal said, “We received information from the hospital regarding the death of one Prince,30, who was brought from Tihar Jail. Necessary legal action is being taken.”

As per police records, Tewatia’s first recorded crime was in 2010 when he killed a retired Delhi Development Authority (DDA) official. . During the trial, he had produced a fake birth certificate in court, to declare himself a juvenile. However, the fraud was detected, and he was booked in a forgery case as well, the police said.

In 2013, Tewatia came in contact with gangster Rohit Chaudhary in Tihar jail and started working with him. In 2014, he was released on bail, after which he ran an extortion racket. In April 2015, he shot at a woman with whom he was in a relationship, said another Special Cell officer.

“There was a near fatal attack on Tewatia in jail in 2019 as well. His gang had blamed that the attack was done by a person on directions of Chaudhary,” said the officer.