Five deaths at Tihar jail in a fortnight

Apart from the murder case, two alleged cases of suicide have raised question on the effectiveness of ‘gumsum-panja’ in Tihar, a group which is meant to identify people with suicidal tendencies.

With the second highest occupancy rate of prisoners in the country, Tihar Central Jail in the Capital is also proving to be one of the most unsafe jails with five deaths including a murder reported from within the jail in the past fortnight.

In the case reported on Wednesday, a prisoner identified as Salman was allegedly murdered inside the high security ward in the jail complex. According to prison sources, the accused, who used a sharp weapon to attack Salman had scaled the walls of the high-security ward and jumped inside the ward to launch the attack.

This incident has raised questions on security arrangements inside the jail complex as the ward is the most secure place inside the jail, where an inmate is kept separate from others. Afzal Guru, convicted in the 2002 Parliament attack case, and Ram Singh, under-trial in the December 16 gang-rape case who was later found dead under mysterious circumstances, were also kept confined in this ward.

Apart from the murder case, two alleged cases of suicide have raised question on the effectiveness of ‘gumsum-panja’ in Tihar, a group which is meant to identify people with suicidal tendencies.

The higher officials in the jail, however, refused to say anything about the increase in the number of deaths in the jail.

Despite several attempts Director General Alok Verma was found unavailable for a comment.

Last year, 36 inmates had died inside jail premises, which was a 100 per cent jump over the previous year 2012 where 18 prisoner deaths were reported from the prison.

In May this year, Delhi High Court had sought a status report from the Delhi Government on the death of 15 inmates in Tihar Jail between January and April this year.