New Delhi: Director General (prisons) of Tihar Jail, Sanjay Baniwal, who retired on Tuesday, expressed his gratitude for the opportunities he got during his tenure. Baniwal, while speaking to ANI said that he was hanging his boots as a very grateful person.

"It was fantastic as long as it lasted today. I am hanging my boots as a very grateful person and an officer for the opportunities that came my way. I am happier and healthier than when I joined...So the service has done me good," he said. Baniwal was given a guard of honour in Tihar Jail on the day of his retirement.

However, he also said that two cases- the Tullu murder case and the lodging of Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal to Tihar are very important to him. "The Tillu murder case taught a lot. It told us where our shortcomings are and what are our strengths. After this incident, we deployed QRT in jails whose parade was so good today at the time when guards of honour were given to me. It is not that incidents did not happen after deployment, but stopped because of them. Continuous drill of QRT also goes on and this is a big change in itself," he said.

Speaking about Arvind Kejriwal, who is lodged at Tihar following his arrest by the ED in the alleged excise policy case, Baniwal said that though he has never met the Delhi CM at the jail, it was 'momentous.' "I have not met him, but it was momentous. This happens very rarely in people's career; I will not say anything more than this. Such a big part of my life has been in policing, I will miss everything," he said.

Baniwal also said that he witnessed the change in the work culture during his one-year and five-month-long tenure in Tihar as the DG. "This one year and five months was a very beautiful time. I learnt a lot, taught a lot," he added. In November 2022, the government abruptly removed the then DG Sandeep Goel amid controversies surrounding Sukesh Chandrasekhar, an accused in a money laundering case, and former AAP minister Satyendar Jain, and posted Baniwal.