Inmate hangs self in Central Jail

Our Correspondent

Tarn Taran, March 30

An undertrial lodged in Central Jail, Sri Goindwal Sahib, committed suicide on Thursday morning by hanging himself from a ceiling fan in the barrack with his own parna (cloth towel). The deceased has been identified as Balwinder Singh (45), a resident of Malmohri, who was lodged in the jail in connection with a sacrilege incident that took place in the village some time back.

Inspector Rajinder Singh, SHO, Goindwal Sahib, said Balwinder Singh was seen hanging from the ceiling fan on Thursday morning and was brought to the local Civil Hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead. The SHO said that a case under Section 176 of the IPC has been registered and further proceedings would be initiated after the report of the judicial inquiry is received by the police.

Gurmeet Kaur, wife of the deceased and his other family members, said Balwinder Singh was brutally beaten up by the villagers on March 22 who charged him with sacrilege. The family, however, denied any disrespect to the holy Guru Granth Sahib in the village gurdwara.

Swaranjit Dhawan, SMO, Civil Hospital, Tarn Taran, said the police had not produced the required documents so far. A three-member board of doctors would be constituted and the post-mortem done under the supervision of a judicial magistrate, he added.