Mumbai: 33-yr-old inmate ‘hangs self’ in jail cell

According to police, when the inmate did not come out of his cell during the counting, the staffer called out his name and on getting no response, went into the cell.

A 33-YEAR-OLD undertrial allegedly committed suicide by hanging inside his cell, where he was staying alone, at Taloja Central Jail in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday, police said.

Police identified the deceased as Balu Baburao Gahdsinghe, who was found hanging inside the cell early in the morning when the prison staff went for a daily round to take a count of inmates.

According to police, when the inmate did not come out of his cell during the counting, the staffer called out his name and on getting no response, went into the cell.

Police said he found Gahdsinghe hanging by the grill with a rope made from a bedsheet.

Prison officials said the inmate was lodged in Kalyan jail from 2016 and was moved to Taloja in October 2019, following complaints of violation of jail rules. “Due to this, he was assigned a separate cell where he was lodged alone. We have informed his family members in Beed. They have not come forward so far,” a prison official said.

An accidental death report was registered at Kharghar police station. A police officer said, so far, no note or any other indication of why the inmate committed suicide had been found.

The officer also said the inmate’s brother and other family members live in Beed and have been informed. “Since the post-mortem is to be conducted to rule out foul play, we have first sent swab samples for Covid-19 test. Based on the reports, further procedure will be followed,” the officer said.

An inquiry by a judicial magistrate as mandated in case of death in custodial institutions will be conducted