Attacked by cellmates,Tihar inmate dies

Police said Kumar was in Tihar since 2008 after he was booked in a child’s kidnapping-cum-murder case. He had three cellmates — two were imprisoned for murder and one for attempt to murder.

“There was a dispute between the inmates,following which a case was registered. An inquiry has been initiated by the Magistrate under Section 176 CrPC. The matter is sub judice and I cannot comment on the probe any further,” said Sunil Gupta,PRO of Tihar.

On September 2,the Hari Nagar police station received a PCR call from DDU Hospital about Kumar’s admission to the hospital in a critical condition. Police said Kumar had severe head injuries and was in coma.

After questioning the inmates of Kumar’s cell,police found weapons used in the crime — a blood-stained stone and a spoon that had been filed to sharpen the edge.

Police said at the time of the incident,one of the cellmates was in court for a hearing,while the other two were present with Kumar.

A case under IPC Section 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) was registered. This was converted to Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) after Kumar’s death.

A senior police officer said,“We are yet to ascertain the reason for the dispute. The victim was in a state of coma,so we were unable to record his statement. The inmates’ statements have been recorded and the jail wardens’ statements are yet to be taken.”

Newsline has a copy of Kumar’s post-mortem report,which states: “Cause of death is coma due to cranio cerebral injuries produced by forceful blunt impact upon head. The head injury was sufficient to cause death in ordinary course of nature… The possibilities of assaults cannot be ruled out.”

About the security in the prison,R N Sharma,DIG (Prison),said,“We took corrective measures. Our staff was quick to react and the victim was rushed to the hospital immediately. The other cellmates have now been separated.”