A 20-year-old under-trial prisoner of the Sundargarh jail died on Tuesday. He had been imprisoned two years ago for allegedly raping a girl.
Niranjan lakra, a resident of Gangajal under the Rajgangpur police station of Sundargarh district, had been arrested and forwarded to court by the Rajgangpur police on February 27, 2015 on the rape charge. Since his bail plea was rejected, he was in the jail since then. His cousin brother had also been sent to the Sundargarh jail along with him as co-accused in the case.
The sessions trial of the case had been going on since August 25, 2015. The next trial date had been fixed on April 11, 2017.
On Tuesday, Niranjan had performed prayer and taken breakfast and then gone to sleep. When jail official came to call him for lunch at around 11 am, he coughed thrice and fell down unconscious. He was rushed to the jail hospital and then referred to the Sundargarh DHH, where doctors declared him brought dead. After getting information, his parents reached the DHH.
“After postmortem, the cause of the death will be known,” said Sundargarh Assistant Jailor CR Patra.