JOIN USTihar inmate hangs herself
Three days after main accused in Delhi gang rape apparently committed suicide in Tihar Jail, a 29-year-old woman prisoner was found hanging inside her cell on Thursday.
Reshma, who was undergoing trial in a kidnapping case, was found hanging around 3 pm by a patrolling matron in sub-jail number six, said Tihar Prison’s spokesperson Sunil Gupta.
She used her dupatta as noose to hang herself with the ventilator’s iron grill. She was all alone as the other two undertrials lodged in her cell were working at Tihar’s factory.
Immediately, the jail matron informed senior officials. The jail doctor rushed to the spot and declared the prisoner dead.
Meanwhile, Hari Nagar police station staff arrived at the cell with a forensic team and a magistrate. After examining the crime scene, the body was sent for a post-mortem at Deen Dayal Upadhaya Hospital.
Reshma hailed from West Bengal and was residing at Sagarpur. She was arrested in November, 2011 in a kidnapping case in Jaitpur in south-east Delhi. Since then she was lodged in the jail, police said.
“She spent most of the time inside her cell as she was not given any work by the jail authority. CCTV cameras have not been installed at jail number six,” said Gupta.
The jail and police officials said prime facie, it seems that she might have committed suicide.
However, a judicial inquiry and an investigation have been initiated as per section 176 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, said Gupta.
“The exact cause of her death would be known after receiving her reports which include the post-mortem examination and forensic report,” he said, adding her family has been informed.
After two such incidents in a week, several questions related to poor security apparatus in Tihar Prison have been raised.