ASI facing robbery charges hangs self in Ludhiana jail

LUDHIANA: An undertrial assistant sub-inspector (ASI) who was dismissed after he was accused of robbery and money laundering, allegedly committed suicide in a washroom in Ludhiana Central Jail on Sunday afternoon.

Police said ASI Gurkewal Singh made a loop from a piece of cloth and used it to hang himself. He had been lodged as an undertrial since May 2017.

Police said around 1:30 other inmates saw his body in the washroom and informed jail officials. The body was later sent to the civil hospital for postmortem that will be conducted on Monday in the presence of a magistrate. Station house officer, Division Number 7 police station, sub-inspector Parveen Randebv, said, “It is apparent that this is a suicide case. We have initiated an investigation and found that ASI Gurkewal hanged himself with a piece of cloth.”

He added that jail inmates informed that the ASI was under stress for the last few months.

Meanwhile, deputy superintendent of Ludhiana Central Jail, Manjit Singh Tiwana, said ASI Gurkewal was a drug addict and was undergoing treatment at the de-addiction ward in the jail premises. “He was suffering from depression and was being counselled,” he said.

THE CASE

ASI Gurkewal Singh was accused of robbing Jaideep

Singh, manager of a private company, of ₹20 lakh. It was alleged that on April 29, 2017, the ASI, along with head constable Sarabjit Singh and other accomplices, barged into Jaideep’s home and robbed a bag containing the cash. A case of robbery was registered against him at Division Number 5 police station. Following this, the ASI was dismissed from service, along with head constable Sarabhit Singh.