Dreaded gangster Sunil Mann alias Tillu Tajpuriya was killed on Tuesday morning after rival gang members attacked him with an iron rod and stabbed him with a “sua” (a big needle often used to break slabs of ice) 40 times in high security Tihar’s Mandoli jail. To carry out the murder, the gangsters cut the iron grill of their cell and reached the ground floor with the help of bedsheets.

This is the second case of violence and gang rivalry in Tihar jail in a month. Last month, Prince Tewatia, a close aide of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, was killed in Tihar jail by rival gang members.

Tajpuriya was the main accused in the Rohini Court shootout case of September 2021. Police said Tajpuriya was rushed to the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital where doctors declared him dead. Another prisoner, identified as Rohit, was injured in the attack. He is said to be out of danger now.

“Today, at around 7 am, information was received from Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital regarding two undertrial prisoners brought to the hospital from Tihar Jail. One of them, Sunil alias Tillu was brought in an unconscious state. He was later declared brought dead. Another person, Rohit is undergoing treatment and is out of danger,” said additional DCP West district, Akshat Kaushal.

According to prison officials, the Gogi gang members were lodged on the first floor of the high-security ward, while Tajpuriya was lodged on the ground floor of the same ward.

He was attacked by Deepak, Yogesh, Rajesh and Riyaz Khan at around 6.15 AM. Prison officials said

Asked how an incident like this has happened again, a jail official said the attack was completed within one-and-a-half minute and the assailants exploited “dark spots”, where no cameras could see, to enter Tajpuriya’s cell.”They (attackers) did not enter the barrack directly, or else they would have been caught,” he said.

“When Tajpuriya saw the attackers, he ran towards another inmate’s cell. The inmate (named Rohit) also tried to save him... Everything happened within a span of one-and-a-half-minute,” he added.

According to police, Tajpuriya and Gogi were once friends, but became rivals during a student union election at Delhi’s Swami Shraddhanand College as they supported different candidates. Over the next decade, the two men and their gang members targeted each other for area dominance.

Tajpuriya hailed from Tajpur Village, a hub for local gangsters and had ties with gangsters Neeraj Bawania, Sunil Bali, Cheenu and others. He was arrested in 2016 after being involved in over 11 cases of murder, the Arms Act, extortion, robbery etc. The Special Cell of Delhi Police also booked him under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).The police said Tajpuriya managed to run his gang from inside the jail for years and orchestrated several killings. He is survived by his parents and three siblings. His father was employed at the Delhi Municipal Corporation and retired recently.

 Sources said Tajpuriya was involved in murder and dacoity cases in Delhi and Haryana. “In 2015-16, Gogi, along with gangster Kuldeep Fajja, was planning to eliminate Tajpuriya and made several attempts to send associates to jail to kill Tajpuriya. However, the police arrested Gogi and Fajja, and their plan failed. Though Fajja was freed from police custody at GTB Hospital by gang members, he was later killed in a police encounter. Gogi was killed in a shootout at the Rohini court,” said an officer.

It is also said that Jitendra Gogi gang has supplied pistol to Sunny who killed Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf. The jail officials said they are suspecting gangster Rohit Moi’s hand in the brutal murder of Tillu. Rohit Moi is believed to be Gogi’s right-hand. Many gangsters from the Gogi gang are lodged in Tihar jail. It is also being said that Gogi’s gang worked with Lawrence Bishnoi and his henchmen.