Special Cell to probe murder of Tillu Tajpuria inside Delhi's Tihar Cell

NEW DELHI: The investigation of the jailhouse murder of gangster Sunil Tillu Tajpuria at Tihar has been transferred to Delhi Police's Special Cell, police sources revealed on Thursday. The unit will take custody of the four men accused of carrying out the killing of the gangster. Police had earlier moved court and obtained permission to arrest and question Yogesh Tunda, Deepak Teetar, Riyaz Khan and Rajesh Bawania.
The cops plan to have the four men attend court hearings only via video conferencing to prevent any retaliatory strikes by the Tajpuria gang. A Special Cell officer said, "We will begin by questioning the security guards in Tihar Jail and the Tamil Nadu Special Police personnel who were at the crime spot and record their statements."
The investigators are preparing a comprehensive questionnaire for the interrogation. "Our main focus is to learn whether any other person in the jail was involved in the murder conspiracy," an officer said. Recalling that another inmate, Rohit, was also injured in Tuesday's murderous attack on Tajpuria, the officer said, "Rohit is the main eyewitness in the case and we are keen to record his statement."
Delhi Police has also asked the Tihar administration to submit a list of members of the Gogi and Tajpuria gangs and the wards/jails in which they are lodged.
CCTV footage of the murder surfaced on Thursday and it corroborates the sequence of events reported by TOI on Wednesday. The 2.49-minute clip shows the suspects rappelling to the lower floor from their cells using bedsheets. Tunda is the first to descend and closes the gate of Tajpuria's barrack. Teetar, wearing a black t-shirt and red shorts, is the second to reach the floor. Gangster Manjeet Mahal, seen in white, tries to hold Bawania but he fights loose and joins the attack with Khan. Tajpuria is seen running towards a chakki, pulling the gates behind him. As first reported by TOI, the assailants stab him on the fingers, which make him loosen his grip. He is then dragged out and the four attackers go on a stabbing spree.
A meeting of the superintendents of the three jail complexes at Tihar regarding the orientation of the guards. Sources said that the discussions revolved around the placement and positioning of guards in the various cells. The prison source said, "In the meeting, it was decided to keep the better trained guards near the barracks where high-security prisoners were lodged."
According to the source, a future roadmap for all three complexes was also discussed at the meeting to prevent any untoward incidents taking place. The treat reassessment of incarcerated gangsters was another topic of discussion. The superintendents were asked to ensure that rival gangsters were not kept in proximity to each other as they had been till Tuesday. "The superintendents were asked to reassess the housing of the gangsters and check the condition of the iron gates and window bars of their cells," the source said.