New Delhi: Delhi Police on Thursday blamed the Tihar Jail authorities for the jail van attack that killed two inmates on Tuesday.
Police said the Tihar Jail authorities were negligent in providing information regarding threats to the undertrials involved in the Tuesday’s attack.
Delhi Police said it could not “imagine” imminent threats without being informed by the jail authorities in advance.
“No information of any kind was ever received from the jail authorities or from courts or even from the deceased regarding any threats they perceived or faced,” the police said in a statement.
“As Neeraj Bawana and the two deceased have travelled together on two consequent dates – August 10 and 11 – (escorting personnel of) the 3rd Battalion had no inkling about any simmering enmity between them,” a police officer said.
According to statement, the jail authorities were supposed to inform the battalion about the high-risk under-trials at least 72 hours in advance.
Making last-minute arrangements in such cases is a logistical nightmare, police said.
Two prisoners were allegedly beaten to death by four others in a clash between two gangs inside a bus transporting nine inmates from Rohini to Tihar Jail on Tuesday.
The dead have been identified as Paras Vikram and Pradeep Bhola, both members of the Neetu Dabodia gang.
The man who led the attack was a rival gang leader Neeraj Bawana and his associates, police said.