A 19-year-old man arrested on the charge of raping a minor girl hanged himself at the Taloja central jail in Navi Mumbai, the police said on Thursday. Officials suspect the undertrial might have been disturbed due to the rape case against him.
The police said the man, identified as Karan Pramod Serian, was found hanging from a ceiling fan in a barrack in the early hours of Tuesday. After being informed by other inmates, jail authorities took him to a hospital where he was declared dead before admission.
Mumbra resident Serian, who had been in the jail since September 26, used his trousers to end his life, said the police.
The Kamothe police arrested Serian on September 22 for allegedly raping a 16-year-old girl. Apart from booking him under the Indian Penal Code, they also pressed charges under POCSO, a law aimed at protecting children from offences of sexual assault and sexual harassment.
The police said Serian was in a relationship with the girl whom he met on social media. The girl eloped with him after he promised to marry her and the two were living in Mumbra, Thane. Serian had also maintained a physical relationship with her, said an official.
On the complaint of the girl’s parents, the Kamothe police registered a case against Serian and arrested him, the official said.
Serian’s body has been sent to a government hospital for a post-mortem and an accidental death report has been registered at Kharghar police station, he said. The body will be handed over to his family members on Thursday, he said.
