Jaipur: Notorious Chambal dacoit Jagan Gurjar, one of the most feared criminals from Rajasthan’s Dholpur district and the wider Chambal region, was allegedly strangled to death by a fellow inmate inside Ajmer’s High-Security Prison on Monday, triggering a murder investigation and a judicial inquiry.
According to preliminary information, Vishnu, an undertrial prisoner lodged in Barrack No. 2 in connection with the high-profile Kuldeep Jaghina murder case from Bharatpur, has allegedly confessed to strangling Gurjar with a ‘gamchha’ (cotton towel).
The two inmates had been housed in the same barrack for the past three months.
Jail authorities said CCTV footage recorded on Monday morning showed the two inmates cleaning the barrack before later playing Ludo together.
As per routine procedure, the barrack was locked at around 11 a.m. When prison staff opened it at approximately 3 p.m. to serve tea, Gurjar did not respond and was subsequently found dead.
Civil Lines Police have registered a case of murder.
The killing has sent shockwaves through the police and prison administration, prompting a high-level investigation.
A judicial officer inspected the scene, while teams from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) and the Mobile Investigation Bureau (MOB) collected fingerprints, footprints and other forensic evidence from the prison.
A judicial inquiry has also been initiated into the incident.
The body has been kept at the mortuary of Jawaharlal Nehru (JLN) Hospital under tight security.
A post-mortem examination will be conducted by a medical board after Gurjar’s family arrives in Ajmer.
Senior police officials, including Ajmer Superintendent of Police Harshvardhan Agrawala, Additional Superintendents of Police Himanshu Jangid and Ganesh Ram, Deputy Superintendent of Police (North) Manish Badgujar, and Civil Lines Station House Officer Shambhu Singh Shekhawat, visited the prison following the incident.
Senior prison officials, including High-Security Jail Superintendent Parasmal Jangid, the Superintendent of Ajmer Central Jail and other officers, also reached the spot to supervise security arrangements and review the situation.
Police officials are investigating how the alleged murder occurred inside a high-security prison and whether any other inmates or prison personnel had prior knowledge of, or involvement in, the incident.
Jagan Gurjar was a native of Bhavutipura village in the Dang region of Rajasthan’s Dholpur district and was regarded as one of the most feared dacoits operating in the Chambal belt.
According to police records, he entered the world of crime after the murder of his brother-in-law in 1994. Seeking revenge, he allegedly killed a fellow villager and subsequently fled into the Chambal ravines along with his wife and three brothers to evade arrest.
He later formed his own gang and, over the years, was accused of operating across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
Police records attribute numerous cases of murder, kidnapping, extortion and other serious offences to his gang during its years of operation.
Authorities are continuing their investigation, and further details are expected to emerge as the judicial and police inquiries progress.
(IANS)
