Gurugram: A 26-year-old inmate of Bhondsi jail allegedly hanged himself from a tree near the hospital inside prison, officials said on Wednesday.
The deceased was identified as Vijay Pal, a resident of Jhajjar district. He was arrested last month on charges of molestation, police said. Following this incident, the relatives of the deceased have alleged foul play. However, the management of Bhondsi jail has initiated an internal inquiry into the matter. According to officials, the inmate was complaining of poor health for a long time and was asking officials to admit him to hospital for treatment.
After the incident, a judicial magistrate visited the spot and a probe was ordered into the matter, the officials said.
"We have initiated an inquiry into this matter and we will soon get to know what really happened. We are creating systems wherein a prisoner does not have to take such extreme steps," said an official from Bhondsi jail.
We handed over the body after post-mortem by a board of doctors and the magisterial probe is on, said Bhondsi Police Station SHO Rajender Kumar.
The family however refused to accept the police version and demanded enquiry alleging murder.
This is the third such incident in four months where an inmate has killed himself inside Bhondsi jail. Earlier, two murder accused killed themselves in October and December. In these two incidents, one deceased was Bheem Singh (28), who was a driver but later turned to crime as he did not have enough income for himself and his family.
The other deceased was Rao Rai Singh who was accused of murdering his daughter-in-law, tenants (husband, wife and their 7-year-old daughter).
There have been number of incidents in the past that have raised questions about the management Bhondsi jail. There have been several incidents where prisoners have been caught consuming drugs. Moreover, jail officials have also been arrested for providing prisoners with drugs.