‘Clash’ at Delhi’s Tihar jail: 17 prisoners injured, officers say wounds self-inflicted

Tihar jail authorities deny reports of clash in Kasturi Ward; say prisoners injured themselves on being denied permission to be let out of cells.

Seventeen prisoners in Delhi’s Tihar jail were injured on Thursday night when a clash broke out between two groups. Senior jail officers, however, denied reports of the clash. They claimed that the prisoners had asked to be let out of their cells and on being denied permission, they inflicted injuries on themselves.

Policemen stand guard as an ambulance leaves the main entrance of Tihar Jail in New Delhi.(AFP/FILE)

Jail sources said that around 1am they received a call from Tihar’s jail number 3 about a fight among prisoners. Six prisoners, who sustained minor injuries, were rushed to the jail hospital while 11 others who had cuts on their ears and hands were rushed to Safdarjung Hospital. Police suspect the prisoners used surgical blades in the clash.

The 11 prisoners who had reportedly received injuries were discharged on Friday morning. DCP (west) Vijay Kumar said, “We have just received a complaint from jail authorities. We will look into it and register a case.”

Explaining the sequence of events, director general prisons Sudhir Yadav said, “There was no clash. At around 11pm, a prisoner in Kasturi Ward called jail officers claiming he was unwell. When our officer went to open the gate and get him out, others also joined in and demanded that they be let off. When our officer refused they banged their heads and self inflicted injuries. It is not a clash and no blades were used.”

Yadav said that most prisoners in Kasturi Ward are those who cause trouble in jail. Prisoners in the ward are punished under the jail rules and are not allowed to interact with others. All the 17 prisoners were serving their time for crimes such as murder, robbery. Jail officers said they have also ordered an internal inquiry to probe if there were any administration lapses.