A 23-year-old Tihar inmate accused of kidnapping and raping a minor was declared dead in a government hospital on Saturday. Police said he died of self-inflicted injuries, but his family alleged that he was beaten to death.
Narender, a resident of Ranhola, was brought to Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Hospital with a head injury around 12 p.m. on Saturday and was later declared dead. He had complained of being harassed by an officer inside the jail premises for the past four months, his family said. They suspect that the officer thrashed him to death. A magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the incident.
‘Banged head on wall’
“The inmate banged his head against the wall to fix someone,” Director General (Prisons) Ajay Kashyap said. “There are witnesses to the incident.” Narender was conscious when he was taken to the hospital, the officer said. The father of the deceased, Ganga Prasad, 53, said his son had been telling his mother Manju that an officer was troubling him for the past four months.
“He told us that the officer used to ask him for money. The officer would beat him when he did not give in to the demands. He used to give fake complaints against Narender to his seniors,” said Mr. Prasad.
Mr. Kashyap, however, said that the inmate never submitted an official complaint of harassment to any senior officer. Narender was sent to jail in December 2015 for allegedly kidnapping and raping a minor. His lawyer A.P. Singh, said that Narender often shared his problem with him.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Vijay Kumar said that the police received a call from DDU stating that a Tihar jail inmate was brought dead on Saturday.
“Inquiry by the judicial magistrate has been initiated...” he said.