Kidnap, rape accused found dead in jail

Surat: A 23-year-old undertrial prisoner was found hanging from the exhaust fan in the toilet of a barrack in Lajpore Central Jail early on Wednesday. The deceased was lodged in the jail since February for alleged kidnapping and rape of a 16-year-old girl.
Police suspect a suicide by Avi alias Avinash Samudre, a native of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, which was earlier known as Aurangabad, in Maharashtra. The accused used a bedsheet to hang himself.
Police recovered from Samudre’s clothes a suicide note written in Marathi and English. “The writing is not clear but it seems that was Samudre upset due to a failed love affair,” said a police officer.
The accused was arrested on February 17 by Adajan police for alleged involvement in kidnapping of the minor girl. He was sent to jail on February 20. He had allegedly kidnapped the girl in September 2022 but was later traced by police. The accused was later booked for rape as he had developed physical relations with the minor girl.