Undertrial found hanging in Delhi's Mandoli Jail; suicide suspected

New Delhi, Dec 18 (PTI) An undertrial lodged in the Mandoli Jail allegedly hanged himself with a cloth inside the prison in northeast Delhi days before his court hearing, prison sources said on Thursday.

The deceased has been identified as Santosh Kamal (24), a resident of Usmanpur in northeast Delhi, they said.

According to the sources, Santosh was lodged in Jail No. 13 for the past nearly four years in connection with a criminal case.

On Tuesday night, he was found hanging in the bathroom of the jail barrack, following which prison staff alerted senior officials.

Kamal was declared dead, and the body was sent for post-mortem for which a medical board has been constituted, officials said, adding that further proceedings will be carried out as per prison rules.

The family members of the deceased were informed about Kamal's death on Wednesday morning, they said.

The undertrial had a court hearing scheduled for Thursday.

Kamal's paternal uncle, Tilak Singh, is serving life sentence in the same jail in another case.

Police said all aspects, including the circumstances leading to the death, are being examined, and statements of the jail staff and other inmates are being recorded as part of the inquiry. PTI SSJ ARI