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The Delhi High Court has asked prison authorities in Delhi to provide adequate security in judicial custody to co-accused, of undertrial gangster Ankit Gujjar - found dead inside the Tihar jail premises last year. 

Directing to provide adequate security to the wife of the co-accused as well, Justice Anu Malhotra has directed that subject to the orders of the Chief Justice, the petition by Adv. Mehmood Pracha, seeking directions to restrain jail officials from "threatening/ coercing/ injuring/extorting" them, be placed on March 4 before the judge dealing with the custodial death case.

Pracha, appearing for the petitioners, stated that the petitioner-inmate is facing extortion at the hands of certain jail officials who are threatening him with a similar fate as Ankit Gujjar.

Gujjar was found dead inside his cell in Tihar jail on August 4 last year.

It was also alleged that they are being harassed to influence Gujjar's family to withdraw their custodial death and extortion complaint.

The state has not opposed the prayer for adequate protection to the petitioners, whereas Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) informed Court that investigation was ongoing. 

Earlier the Delhi High Court had ordered for 8-murders accused, Ankit Gujjar's custodial death case from Delhi's Tihar Jail to be transferred to the CBI on a plea seeking the transfer of probe to the central agency.

Noting that Gujjar was not only brutally tortured by unknown inmates but the Jail authorities also failed to ensure due treatment being provided to him thereafter, the Court said, "..even when Ankit got injured and was alive, in case proper 
medical treatment was provided to him, his life could have been saved."

The bench of Justice Mukta Gupta while reserving the order had said that the case was "a clear case of custodial torture".

The Court had directed for a status report to be filed by Director General (Prisons) indicating the measures taken to streamline the system as regards the CCTV cameras at the jail and when the same are not working, what alternative 
measures can be taken in the meantime.

The petition filed through Advocates Mehmood Pracha and Shariq Nisar had alleged that the authorities were trying to “manipulate the investigation” to protect the accused. It had further been contended that the conduct of authorities had been in favour of offenders and against the victims.

Gangster Ankit Gujjar, who was accused of killing BJP leader Vijay Pandit outside his Dadri home in 2014, was found dead inside the Tihar Jail complex on Aug 4, 2021. It had been alleged that the investigation revealed that the 29-year-old was beaten to death.

Ankit was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police back in 2015, but was subsequently released on bail in 2019. He was said to have been involved in as many as 8 murder cases. Both the Uttar Pradesh Police and the Delhi Police had issued rewards of ₹ 1 lakh and  ₹ 25,000 respectively for apprehending Ankit Gujjar.