Jailed gangster Tillu Tajpuriya was killed early Tuesday inside Tihar Jail allegedly by four members of the notorious Gogi gang who cut two iron grilles of the high-security prison and stabbed him "40-50 times" with an improvised weapon, officials said.

Tajpuriya, an accused in the 2021 Rohini court shootout in which gangster Jitender Gogi was killed, was taken to the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital in an unconscious state where he was declared dead.

The assailants — Deepak alias Titar, Yogesh alias Tunda, Rajesh and Riyaz Khan — used bed sheets to climb down to Tajpuriya's ground-floor ward from the first floor around 6.15 am and attacked him.

Prison officials said they suspect that the attackers had cut the two grilles installed on the first floor and placed them there to avoid suspicion. Before the attack, they only had to remove the grilles and climb down. The attack happened when the cells were opened for counting of the inmates, they added.

When Tajpuriya saw the attackers, he ran to the cell of a fellow inmate, named Rohit, who tried to save him by closing the gate of his cell. However, the cell could not be locked from inside and so the assailants barged into the cell. In this process, Rohit too got injured, sources said.

The whole attack happened within two minutes, they added.

Staff members and security personnel immediately rushed to the spot and caught the four assailants. They shifted the injured to the jail hospital and later to DDU Hospital around 6.45 am.

Tajpuriya, who had 40 to 50 stab wounds, died during treatment, a prison official said, adding Rohit has been brought back to the prison.

Officials said they were planning to shift the four assailants to a different jail.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Akshat Kaushal said police received information about the incident around 7 am.

This was the second incident in which a prisoner was killed inside the Tihar Jail within a month.

On April 14, Prince Tewatia (33), an associate of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, was killed similarly in an early-morning attack inside the jail by rival gang members following an altercation with an inmate. An under-trial prisoner, he was lodged in ward no. 6 of the jail no. 3 which has around 380 inmates.

Prison officials claimed they were improving security inside the high-risk jail and carrying out intensive searches in wards for improvised weapons and other illegal items, such as mobile phones, after the Tewatia incident. They were also maintaining a "strict vigil" through CCTV cameras.

This incident, however, has put a serious question mark on the security arrangements.

In an unverified social media post, gangster Satinder Singh Brar alias Goldy Brar, who is said to be hiding in Canada, claimed the attack on Tajpuriya was for revenge.

"Hello everyone, the murder of Tillu Tajpuriya that happened on Tuesday in Tihar Jail was done by our brothers Yogesh Tunda and Deepak Titar. Due to loss of Gogi Maan bhai, Tillu took responsibility and he was the enemy of our brothers from the beginning. The number of others will come soon," he said in the post.

In September 2021, gangster Gogi was shot dead by two assailants dressed as lawyers inside the Rohini court complex. The assailants were then killed in retaliatory firing by the police.

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