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Gangster Tajpuria killed in Tihar jail over rival Gogi’s 2021 murder
Tillu was moved from Mandoli jail to a high-risk ward in Tihar just a month ago, said prison officers.
Jailed gangster Sunil Baliyan, better known as Tillu Tajpuria (33), was murdered inside his Tihar prison cell early on Tuesday by four inmates who are allegedly members of the criminal group earlier led by his rival Gogi, in an elaborately planned operation that underlined the frail state of security in India’s largest prison.
Read here: Who was Tillu Tajpuriya — Delhi gangster killed in Tihar jail?
The vicious murder – the second in the prison complex in just 18 days – comes roughly a year-and-a-half after members of Tillu’s gang shot Gogi dead in a sensational killing inside a Rohini courtroom, and marks a key turning point in one of Delhi’s most brutal gang rivalries.
One undertrial was injured during the attack as he tried to save Tillu, and is being treated in hospital, said the police, adding that the four assailants made a second attack on the gangster minutes after the first “to make sure he was dead”, even as he was surrounded by security personnel. The four were booked for murder, attempt to murder and common intention.
Tillu was moved from Mandoli jail to a high-risk ward in Tihar just a month ago, said prison officers. He inhabited a cell alone on the ground floor in Tihar’s jail number 8 and 9, they added.
The intricate plan unfolded at 6am on Tuesday, a time when prisoners are allowed to step out of their cells.
Deepak Dabas (30), Rajesh Bawania (42), Yogesh (31) and Riyaz Khan (39) were imprisoned in a cell on the first floor of the same ward. Each floor, except the ground, is cordoned off by iron bars to prevent prisoners on one floor from entering another.
According to a preliminary probe, the four pried open the iron bars over several days to avoid being noticed. They also ripped out one of the bars, which they would later use as a weapon to attack Tillu. Then, they used a bedsheet to slide down to the ground floor on Tuesday morning.
Tillu was still in his cell, though the gate was unlocked, said police.
“They rushed into Tillu’s cell and stabbed him several times with improvised weapons, like knives made from broken spoons,” said Delhi prisons chief Sanjay Baniwal.
When Tillu realised they were coming, he tried to keep his cell door shut and was helped by another undertrial, Rohit. However, the four assailants overpowered the two and stabbed Tillu at least 100 times, said the police.
Tillu was rushed to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, where he was declared dead. Rohit was wounded during the attack and is being treated in hospital, said the police.
Baniwal said an inquiry has been launched to ascertain the precise sequence of events, identify the security lapses that paved the way for the attack and hold culpable jails officers responsible.
The inquiry, he said, will also outline long-term steps to avoid such incidents, the frequency and nature of which have over the past few years left prison authorities across the national capital red-faced.
Additional deputy police commissioner (west) Akshat Kaushal said, “We have registered a case of murder, attempt to murder and rioting against the four inmates involved in the attack. The metropolitan magistrate (MM) concerned will be informed about the incident and permission will be sought to arrest and interrogate the alleged accused. Our probe will also focus on establishing if there was any larger conspiracy involved.”
Baniwal added that an internal Tihar committee has been asked to submit a report on the incident within 24 hours.
The four men devised the detailed plan over several days and executed the murder with relative ease, with prison and police experts highlighting the repeated security lapses in Tihar Jail.
Murders and brutal attacks have become frequent occurrences across Delhi’s three prisons – Tihar, Mandoli and Rohini.
As recently as April 14, jailed gangster Prince Tewatia, who was allegedly associated with notorious criminal Lawrence Bishnoi (the prime suspect in the murder of Congress leader Sidhu Moosewala), was killed in another suspected gang war.
On August 4, 2021, 29-year-old gangster Ankit Gijjar, accused in at least eight murders, was found murdered inside a high-security ward in Tihar, a killing that led to widespread outrage, an extensive investigation and the promise of significant reform. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probed the case and chargesheeted at least six senior jail officials, including former deputy superintendent Narender Meena, for allegedly beating Gujjar to death.
Read here: Rival gang members kill gangster Tillu Tajpuriya in Delhi’s Tihar Jail
However, even after that murder, experts said Tillu’s killing leaves behind a series of red flags for the prison’s security apparatus.
“First, rival gang members shouldn’t be kept in the same jail and ward,” said Sunil Gupta, who retired from Delhi Prisons as a legal advisor and spokesperson. “Secondly, jail manuals say high-risk prisoners’ lodgments should be searched twice in the morning and evening every day. The fact that the attackers had improvised weapons means this wasn’t done. Third, such prisoners should be shifted every month. Over and above this, jail staff and security personnel should be trained to deal with such prisoners professionally.”
Gogi and Tillu have a long chequered past. They first crossed paths as schoolchildren in the early 2000s. Then, in 2007, Gogi enrolled in Alipur’s Shraddhanand College. Tillu, who dropped out of school in 2010, kept up his acquaintance with his boyhood friend for much of Gogi’s college life. But what once blossomed into a friendship quickly turned into a devastating rivalry after they supported opposing candidates in student elections at the college in 2010, said an officer from the Delhi Police’s special cell.
Since then, their turf war has spilled blood on the streets of the National Capital Region (NCR) and the two men and their supporters have found their names in dozens of case files over the years. The conflict hit a crescendo on September 24, 2021, when Gogi was shot dead in Rohini courtoom by gunmen from Tillu’s gang dressed as lawyers. The murder unfolded before the judge and a dozen others, all of whom escaped unhurt, minutes before a routine hearing. The police shot dead the two assailants on the spot.
A resident of Tajpur Kalan village near Delhi’s Alipur, Tillu was arrested from Rohtak by Haryana Police in 2016.
Police officers said Tillu was moved from Mandoli in April, after he approached jail officials and reported a possible security threat from rival inmates there.
He was then moved to Tihar jail number 10 and 4 and later shifted to the high-security ward 8 and 9 on April 20.
Soon after Tillu’s killing, a few messages were posted on social media allegedly on behalf of gangsters linked with Gogi’s gang. These included notorious gangsters like Lawrence Bishnoi, Kala Jatheri and Goldy Brar, claiming responsibility for the murder and threatening his sympathisers.
“...today’s murder of Tillu Tajpuriya inside Tihar jail was committed by our brothers Yogesh Tunda and Deepak Titar...Tillu had got our brother, Jitender Gogi, killed...today we have taken revenge of his (Gogi’s) murder... nobody becomes a gangster just by just being on Facebook...one has to kill and get killed for our brothers... those supporting our enemies should understand that they will not be spared...” read one of the messages on Twitter, through an account created in the name of fugitive gangster, Goldy Brar.
Read here: Gangster Tillu Tajpuriya, accused in Delhi's Rohini court shootout, killed in Tihar jail
HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the social media account through which the message was posted.
