Guards’ role under lens after gangster found dead in Tihar jail

Delhi Police and Tihar prison officers did not elaborate on the events that led to Gujjar’s death, but Tihar director general, Sandeep Goel, said a magisterial inquiry is being conducted in the matter.

An alleged gangster, Ankit Gujjar, was found dead in a cell inside Tihar jail No 3 on Wednesday morning, even as his two cell mates complained that they were assaulted by the prison guards, officers aware of the matter said.

Ankit Gujjar was found dead in a cell inside Tihar jail number 3 on Wednesday morning. (Biplov Bhuyan/HT Archive)

Until his arrest in August 2020, Gujjar,29, was one of western Uttar Pradesh’s most wanted persons. Accused in at least eight murder cases, along with other criminal cases, Gujjar carried a reward of ₹1.25 lakh at the time of his arrest --- ₹1 lakh announced by Uttar Pradesh police and ₹25,000 by Delhi Police.

Delhi Police and Tihar prison officers did not elaborate on the events that led to Gujjar’s death, but Tihar director general, Sandeep Goel, said a magisterial inquiry is being conducted in the matter.

HT spoke to several police and prison officers who confirmed that on Tuesday, three inmates, including Gujjar, fought with prison guards during an inspection of their cell. The inspection was conducted following a tip-off that the prisoners were hiding an “improvised sharp weapon” in their cell, the officers said.

“Gujjar was lodged in a cell with two other prisoners Gurpreet, 22, and Gurjeet, 22, both residents of Delhi’s Dakshinpuri. Jail officers conducted a search inside their cell, but they resisted. During the search, the three appeared to have clashed with the prison guards. After this, the situation was brought under control and Gujjar was transferred to a solitary cell. Gurpreet and Gujjar were lodged together in another cell,” said an officer, who asked not to be named.

At 7am on Wednesday, when jail officers were taking a head count of the prisoners, they found Gujjar unconscious inside his cell. He was rushed to the dispensary of jail number 3, where he was declared brought dead. His two cell mates, who also alleged that they suffered internal injuries, were taken to the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, where they are currently under treatment.

“It is possible that Gujjar may have suffered internal injuries. Only the post-mortem report will clear what led to his death,” a police officer, who asked not be named, said.

Delhi police officers said they were awaiting a post-mortem report before proceeding in the matter.

Gujjar, a resident of Baghpat, was arrested by UP Police in 2015. He was released on bail in 2019. He then shifted his operations to Delhi.

Delhi Police said Gujjar joined hands with Delhi-based gangster Rohit Chaudhary, and together they formed the Chaudhary-Gujjar gang. There are several fan pages of Gujjar on social media with his photographs and videos. The photos show him carrying weapons. He has been addressed as a “top gangster” in many of the fan pages. In July 2019, Gujjar killed a local Bharatiya Janata Party leader, Vinod Pandit, during the panchayat elections in Chandi Nagar, Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh. He also pasted posters threatening his rivals.

Last month, the Delhi high court asked the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe an inmate’s murder inside the jail in May. Delhi Police arrested four prisoners, lodged inside the jail for the murder. But the family of the dead prisoner, Srikant Swami, has also held jail officers responsible for his murder.