Tihar inmates clash in jail, one dead

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A violent clash between inmates of the high-security Tihar Jail here Friday left one dead and eight injured, police said.

Javed, 27, died in the scuffle, reported to be result of an ego clash among the inmates. However, jail authorities said they are verifying what caused the fight.

The clash occurred on a day when security in prisons across India, including in Tihar Jail, was beefed up for Pakistani inmates after the death of Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh in a Pakistani jail.

The incident occurred around 6.30 a.m. when the inmates were being shifted to other cells in Jail Number 1.

According to jail sources, the scuffle broke out near a construction site. It went on for around 15 minutes. Jail security officers intervened and stopped the fight.

Iron rods, sticks and bricks were used.

"Javed had been lodged in the prison for seven years. He was a resident of Seelampur area in east Delhi," Tihar Jail officer Sunil Gupta told IANS.

The injured are Ravi, another Ravi, Mukesh, Rahul, Naresh, Badari, Mustafa and Sajid. They have been admitted to the Deen Dayal Upadhayay Hospital in west Delhi.

One of them is critically injured.

A probe has been ordered and some inmates have been questioned.

Incidentally, Pakistani inmate Sanaullah Ranjay in a Jammu prison, was assaulted by his fellow inmates Friday morning.