POCSO accused hangs self inside Gwalior Central Jail in MP

A man charged under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and in prison since January 23 allegedly committed suicide in Gwalior Central Jail in Madhya Pradesh, police said on Monday. Narottam Rawat's body was found hanging from a tree in the premises of a temple within the jail complex after a search was mounted around 7:30pm on Sunday as he had not come back to his barracks post dinner, said Gwalior Central Jail Superintendent Manoj Sahu.

"He had eloped with a minor girl on January 4 but was held later, charged under the POCSO Act, and sent to jail on January 23," Sahu said.

He said jail wardens Omprakash Suman, Manoj Tyagi and Prem Goyal have been suspended, and probe was underway to ascertain how Rawat managed to make a rope out of clothes, climb atop the tree and commit suicide without on-duty personnel getting alerted. While jail records showed Rawat's age as 20, his family claimed the deceased was 17 years and 11 months and thus a minor.