Rewari: Murder accused dies by ‘suicide’ in lockup

A murder accused, who hailed from Uttar Pradesh, was found dead in a lockup in Model Town Police Station here on Saturday night.

The police claimed that prime facie it was a suicide case and the victim, Vinod, used a piece of a blanket to hang himself by tying it to an iron mesh. However, his family members accused the police of negligence. Sunny, another accused in the murder case, was sleeping nearby when the incident took place.

SP Hamendra Kumar Meena said a judicial inquiry had been initiated as per NHRC guidelines into the matter. Further action would be taken accordingly.

The police had arrested Vinod and Sunny on Friday in connection with the murder of Rakesh of Jaunpur village. The crime was committed on September 3. All three used to live in the same room and had a dispute over vacating the premises. After the argument, they drank alcohol together, following which Vinod and Sunny allegedly murdered Rakesh.

“After the arrest, the police took the accused on remand. When they were lodged in the lockup, Vinod covered himself with a bedsheet and quietly tore apart the blanket he was lying on. He tied the strip of the blanket to the iron mesh inside the lockup and hanged himself to death,” said a police official.