After gangster Tillu Tajpuria’s murder on May 2 in Asia’s most secure jail, Tihar, the prison authorities have decided to replace over 2,000 exhaust fans with plastic ones and install lights at dark spots to prevent such incidents.
After the murder, Director-General of Delhi Prisons Sanjay Beniwal issued a circular to remove “dangerous objects” from wards of Tihar Jail that can be used by inmates to make improvised weapons. The PWD will be carrying out the work. It has floated tenders for Central Jail Number 1 of Tihar and more are in the offing. Once the tender is awarded the work has to be completed within a month, the officials added. According to prison officials, keeping the safety of inmates in mind and to prevent a repetition of such incidents in the near future, the Tihar Jail administration got more than 2,000 exhaust fans removed from the wards housing the barracks where inmates are lodged.
“The process of removing the exhaust fans started after gangster Tillu Tajpuriya was murdered,” a senior jail official said. He added that exhaust fans were removed only from wards of Tihar jails since those installed in the Rohini and Mandoli jails are out of reach of the inmates lodged there. The attackers of Tajpuriya had also taken advantage of certain “dark spots” to gain access to his cell and so, to keep a close watch on the activities in such areas, LED lights will also be installed, he said.
“We have identified dark spots inside the wards and soon these areas will be lit up with LED lights. This will help guards to keep a close watch,” he said.