Court takes cognisance of charge sheet against Tihar jail officials in gangster Ankit Gujjar death case

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A Delhi court has taken cognisance of a charge sheet filed against former deputy superintendent of Tihar prison Narender Meena and other jail officials in a case related to the death of gangster Ankit Gujjar last year, citing prima-facie sufficient material to proceed with the case.

Meena is currently in judicial custody along with then Assistant Superintendents Deepak Dabas and Ram Avtar Meena, Head Warder Dinesh Chikara, and warders Harphool Meena and Vinod Meena. The accused were charged with Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

According to the CBI, the accused kicked and brutally beat up Ankit Gujjar, 29, and two other inmates – Gurjeet and Gurpreet – with polycarbonate 'lathis'.

Further, proper medical attention was not given to Ankit Gujjar who succumbed to his injuries on August 4, 2021, the agency said.

The CBI said that during investigation seven polycarbonate lathis having possible traces of blood were recovered from the jail.

During the investigation, a forensic examination was done and as per FSL report, from two of the polycarbonate lathis, DNA profiles were generated which were found matching with the mixed DNA profiles of the inmates Ankit Gujjar, Gurjeet and Gurpreet, the agency said.

Gujjar was lodged in prison number three of Tihar and was facing charges of multiple murders.

Perusal of the charge sheet and annexed documents reveals that the allegations levelled against the accused persons and the material on record are prima-facie sufficient to proceed with the case,” Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Anjani Mahajan said in an order passed on October 28.

The judge noted that the statements of the injured persons, Gurpreet and Gurjeet, who were also arrayed as witnesses, prima facie corroborated the prosecution's version.

The court said that the post-mortem report of the deceased Ankit Gujjar mentioned the cause of death being hemorrhage consequent upon the cumulative effect of multiple blunt force injuries sustained to the body, while the time of death coincided with the alleged incident.