19-yr-old undertrial found hanging in Tihar jail: Police

NEW DELHI: A 19-year-old undertrial inmate at Tihar jail was found hanging from an iron grille near his cell on Friday, the second case of a suspected suicide in the prison in the last seven days. Family members of the teenager, Gagan Kumar, alleged he was murdered and demanded a probe but jail officers said they have CCTV footage that proves otherwise.

NEW DELHI: A 19-year-old, undertrial inmate at Tihar jail was found hanging from an iron grille near his cell on Friday -the second case of a suspected suicide in the prison in the last seven days.

The family members of the teenager, Gagan Kumar alias Gujrathi, said he was murdered and demanded an independent probe but jail officers said they have CCTV footage, which shows Kumar hanged himself.

On January 31, a 25-year-old man, who was arrested in a case of alleged sexual assault died at a city hospital after he was found hanging in the bathroom inside the jail. In 2019, six suicides were reported from inside the prison, where around 18000 inmates are lodged. Until 2018, the prison administration reported at least 13 suicides every year.

Kumar, a resident of Raghubir Nagar in west Delhi, was arrested in a case of theft and under the Arms Act by officers of the Rajouri Garden police station on October 14. Police had caught him with a countrymade pistol and a stolen TVS Apache motorcycle. He worked as a garments seller at the Raghubir Nagar market.

Kumar’s uncle, Kanhaiya Lal, alleged foul play. “There is no reason why my nephew would take his life. Three days ago, his mother had gone to meet him. He seemed fine then. But before that visit, he would complain of harassment by junior jail officers. The senior officers must probe what happened. We got a call from Rajouri Garden police station around 9am on Friday, informing us about my nephew’s death,” Lal said.

Jail officers said Kumar went to the bathroom around 6am and hanged himself using a towel from the iron grille. He was rushed to the prison hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.

Raj Kumar, additional inspector general of Tihar prisons, said Kumar killed himself. “A magisterial enquiry has been ordered in the case. Prima facie, there is nothing to suggest foul play. The evidence shows he took his life. The evidence will be submitted before the magistrate,” Kumar said.

Following many incidents of suicide inside prison, the jail administration had in 2018 started a mental health programme to identify depressed patients and work with them to ensure that they do not take extreme steps.