Undertrial booked in POCSO case hangs himself in Gujarat sub-jail

Himatnagar: A 24-year-old undertrial allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in the toilet of a barrack in Himatnagar sub-jail in Gujarat's Sabarkantha district, police said on Sunday.

The incident occurred on Saturday morning, and an entry was made in the station diary of Himatnagar B-division police station later in the day, the police official said.

Vipul Mathasuliya hanged himself from a rope tied to the ventilator of a toilet on the first floor of the barrack on Saturday morning when prisoners lined up for breakfast, said J G Chavda, district jail superintendent, Himatnagar District Prison.

Mathasuliya was accused of raping a minor and was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCS) Act. He was lodged at the sub-jail since July, he said.

The reason for the extreme step is unclear, the official said.

The body was sent to Ahmedabad for forensic post-mortem, and a case of accidental death was registered, he said.