Two inmates kill undertrial in crowded Delhi court lock-up as police look on

A 24-year-old under-trial, Aman Poddar, was killed in a Delhi court lock-up by fellow inmates amid security lapses, raising serious concerns.

A 24-year-old under-trial was killed inside the court lock-up at the Saket courts complex in south Delhi even as police stood outside, fumbling with the locks.

Outside Saket Court on Thursday. (ANI)

The incident took place on Wednesday around 9.50am inside Kharja No. 5, one of several rooms in the lock-up block, where he was allegedly assaulted by two fellow inmates. The assault — swift, brutal, and witnessed by 34 other prisoners — has raised serious questions about custodial security and the protocol breach that allowed inmates with known hostility to be confined together.

According to police, the victim, Aman Poddar, had been in jail since 2017 in connection with a murder case. He was awaiting court production when the assault took place.

Police said the accused — Jitender Singh and Jaidev Chand, both in their 30s — began hitting him without warning, then launched a flurry of kicks. One of them reportedly kicked Poddar with such force that he hit a wall head-first and collapsed. Eyewitnesses told police that as Poddar lay on the ground, Singh pressed a foot to his neck, trying to suffocate him. By the time police managed to open the double-locked door and pull the victim away, he had suffered severe injuries.

He was rushed to hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

Police said Singh has alleged that Poddar had assaulted him and his brother with a knife in 2024, when both were briefly out on bail. All three — Poddar, Singh and Chand — were lodged in Tihar jail, but in separate wards. Singh was arrested in April in a snatching case, while Chand was held for robbery last year.

A senior police officer, requesting anonymity, said the accused exchanged words with Poddar earlier that morning while being transported to the court. “Once inside the same lock-up, they found an opportunity to strike,” the officer said.

Security protocols mandate that inmates with known rivalries or gang affiliations be held in separate lock-ups. A member of the Saket Bar Association said this was standard practice. “It is shocking that such a lapse occurred. How were they all placed in the same lock-up?”

The common lock-up can hold up to 40 under-trials at once, with one constable posted outside. That morning, 37 inmates were packed inside. Police sources said the outer staff belonged to the Third Battalion. By the time they unlocked both doors, the assault — which lasted less than a minute — had already played out.

Anil Basoya, secretary of the Saket Bar Association, said, “This is unprecedented. There were no weapons used, but the circumstances that allowed it are deeply troubling.”

Police have registered a case of murder and are probing the custodial lapses. The incident has also prompted calls for a review of security procedures within the court complex.