29-year-old under trial stabbed to death inside Tihar jail in Delhi

A 29-year-old under trial prisoner (UTP), who was arrested and imprisoned in a four-year-old robbery and murder case, was stabbed to death allegedly by a fellow inmate in jail No 3 at the Tihar Prison Complex, west Delhi, on Friday, police officers aware of the matter said. This was the second such clash between inmates at jail No 3 in the past nine days.
According to police, the deceased man, identified as Deepak Soni, was murdered with an improvised sharp metal object by Abdul Basir Akhondzada, 44, an Afghan national.
A spokesperson of Delhi (Tihar) Prisons said the incident happened at 12.40pm without any provocation. Police ruled out any gang rivalry angle in the crime.
“The prison staff and quick reaction team immediately rushed to the spot to control the situation and apprehended the attacker. Soni was provided immediate medical assistance and was taken to Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) hospital, where he was declared dead. Local police have been intimated and an investigation is underway,” the Tihar spokesperson said.
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Soni was arrested in a robbery and murder case registered in 2018 at Paschim Vihar police station and was originally a resident of Shakurpur in northwest Delhi.
“He was attacked by Akhondzada, who was arrested in an attempted murder case registered at the Lajpat Nagar police station in 2019,” said DCP Veer. He sustained one stab injury to his chest, police said.
On April 24, two groups of prisoners attacked each other with improvised sharp weapons during which four prisoners sustained stab injuries.
Police investigation revealed that the fight between the two groups happened over claiming dominance in the northwest area as the victims and the accused belonged to the same locality.