An undertrial accused of uxoricide allegedly committed suicide in the Parappana Agrahara central jail on Wednesday night.
The deceased, Mahadeva, 34, has been in judicial custody since April 19, after he was arrested on charges of murdering his wife, Sarojamma. It was alleged that Mahadeva set her ablaze on March 18. She died two days later.
Police said he was found hanging from a toilet pipe in a less-frequented section of the jail. He had used his shirt to commit suicide.
In a death note, Mahadeva cited his wife’s death as the motive of his suicide. The man was apparently upset ever since he learnt about his wife’s death.
Though he had committed suicide onWednesday night, it came to light only on Thursday morning.
“During the routine attendance call, we noticed a prisoner missing. We started an intensive search and found his body hanging in a toilet of the empty building,” superintendent of the jail Lakshminarayan said.
Mahadeva reportedly ran away to the unused building under the cover of rain that lashed the city on Wednesday night.
“All the prisoners ran into their respective cells to escape the rain, but Mahadeva ran into the empty quarters of the building within the jail compound and hanged himself,” the superintendent added.
Mahadeva’s body was shifted to the Victoria Hospital. Police said the body would be handed over to his relatives after a post-mortem examination on Friday.
