Inmate kills another ‘for revenge’ in Tihar

THE 21-YEAR-OLD ATTACKED MEHTAB WITH A SHARP METAL STRIP & STABBED HIM IN THE NECK MULTIPLE TIMES

NEW DELHI: A 21-year-old man murdered a fellow prisoner, who had allegedly raped his sister and pushed her to suicide in 2014, at Delhi’s Tihar prison on Monday, investigators said citing initial probe, and added it was a revenge killing he had been planning since July 2018 when he was arrested for murder.

The 21-year-old attacked Mehtab, 27, with a sharp metal strip and stabbed him in the neck multiple times. Mehtab was rushed to the nearby Deen Dayal Upadhyay hospital, where he was declared brought dead.

Mehtab had been in prison since 2014 for the alleged rape, an investigating officer. “In July 2018, the 21-year-old was arrested for a rickshaw driver’s murder. He learnt Mehtab was also in prison. They were lodged in different jails then. He had been planning the murder since then. About a week ago, he was transferred to jail 8/9 [same jail complex] from jail number 5. He requested prison authorities to transfer him to the same ward as Mehtab. He was shifted after a fight with his fellow inmates in the previous ward. The 21-yearold was transferred to Mehtab’s ward and he stabbed him on Monday morning,” the investigating officer, requesting anonymity.

A Tihar spokesperson said nobody knew they were connected in a case involving a family member. “Normally we segregate prisoners from rival gangs. A magisterial inquiry is in process.” Investigators said they will look into the source of the metallic strip because such sharp items are banned inside the prison compound.