A quiet storm is brewing behind Tihar’s high walls.
The Delhi High Court has ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation to initiate a preliminary probe into chilling revelations of a full-fledged extortion racket allegedly flourishing within Tihar Jail — a network reportedly operated with the help of those entrusted to guard it.
This development followed a sealed-cover report submitted by a judge tasked with inspecting the prison. What the judge found was not just irregularities — but a parallel criminal universe thriving behind bars. Official phone lines allegedly used for unlawful dealings. Inmates operating with impunity. Jail authorities possibly complicit.
The bench, led by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, didn’t mince words. “Startling. Disturbing,” the judges said after reading the report. “The misuse of institutional systems to push nefarious objectives cannot be ignored.”
In response, the court didn’t just stop at a CBI inquiry. It also roped in Delhi’s Principal Secretary of the Home Department, ordering a simultaneous administrative fact-finding mission. The Director General of Prisons has been told to assist fully. Accountability, the court made clear, will not be optional.
This entire unraveling began with a petition filed by a former inmate, jailed for two months over allegations of cheating and forgery. His plea painted a grim picture: extortion rings inside the jail, threats to prisoners and their families, and jail staff turning a blind eye — or worse, playing along.
The case is set to return to court on August 11. But the message is loud and clear: Tihar’s secrets are no longer safe.
