Prisoner falls to death from tree

A 47-year-old convict fell to his death from a coconut tree at the Central Prison on Saturday.

K Mohammed, of Lakkinakoppa village in Shivamogga district, had been lodged in the prison for the past 13 years for killing his second wife. His first wife Shamshudha accused the prison officials of forcing him to climb the tree. She claimed the convict did not know how to climb trees.

Four convicts, including Mohammed, were cleaning the guest house inside the prison on Saturday morning. As instructed by officials, Mohammed climbed a 20-foot-high coconut tree, lost balance and fell. He sustained head injuries and was rushed to Victoria Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.

Mohammed's brother Babu told DH prison officials first informed the family about his injury about noon on Saturday. They called a second time at 2 pm to notify his death. Babu and others rushed to Bengaluru, but prison officials failed to give them a clear picture on how Mohammed had fallen  down.

When Mohammed was home on parole recently, he told Shamshudha prison officials are making him clean their quarters, including the toilets, which he never did in his life. Despite telling them he did not have the strength to hold on to his weight on the tree, he was made to climb, Shamshudha claimed.

She vowed to lodge a complaint against prison officials once Mohammed's last rites are over.

The Parappana Agrahara police cited statements by prison officials, saying Mohammed was assigned to trim the plants and no instructions were given on climbing the tree, adding that the convict did it on his own and fell to his death. The police registered a case of unnatural death, and said would probe the prison officials if the family filed a case.