Kanpur: A 24-year-old undertrial prisoner, lodged in Banda Jail on charges of raping a minor, allegedly died by suicide on Thursday afternoon inside the jail's gas warehouse.
According to officials, the deceased was arrested on March 11 for allegedly raping a minor and was subsequently sent to judicial custody at Banda Jail.
Jail staff reported that he had been assigned cooking duty in the school area on Thursday afternoon. During the assignment, he moved towards a nearby gas warehouse, stating that he needed to pour water into a gas tank.
When he failed to return for some time, other inmates went to check on him and discovered his body hanging from a towel in the gas warehouse. He was immediately rushed to the jail hospital, where he was declared dead.
The administration informed the jail directorate and senior officers. Acting on their instructions, police were called to the jail late at night to complete inquest proceedings and initiate further legal action.
Jail superintendent Shashikant Singh said the reason for the suicide is not yet known. He added that the deceased's conduct in jail appeared normal and nothing unusual had been noticed in his behaviour.
The administration is probing the case and questioning other prisoners to ascertain the circumstances behind the incident, Singh said.
