A 21-year-old man who was being tried in a child sexual abuse case committed suicide at the Sessions Court in Dindoshi on Saturday afternoon.
According to the Kurar police, the accused, Vikas Pawar, was arrested by the Powai police on December 9, 2015 for allegedly sexually assaulting a five-year-old boy. He was charged with unnatural intercourse under the Indian Penal Code along with relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
After his police custody period expired, Pawar was remanded in judicial custody and was lodged in the Arthur Road central jail in Kalachowkie while the case went to trial. Personnel from the Local Arms (LA) unit would escort him to and from court hearings every time.
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“Pawar was brought to the Dindoshi court to attend a hearing on Saturday and after it was over, he was being escorted out of the court premises when he took the extreme step,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone XII) Vinay Kumar Rathod said.
Pawar was rushed to the Shatabdi Hospital in Kandivali where he was declared dead before admission. Meanwhile, police personnel on duty at the court also informed the Kurar police, as the court falls under their jurisdiction. A team was sent to the court to conduct inquiries, while another team reached the hospital.
“No suicide note was found on Pawar’s person and, according to inquiries so far, he did not display any signs of suicidal behaviour recently,” Mr. Rathod said.
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The police have registered an Accidental Death Report in the incident and are recording statements from the LA staff who were escorting him.
The police will also be conducting inquiries with his family members and personnel at the Arthur Road jail to check if he seemed unusually disturbed the last time they saw him.
The prison staff, meanwhile, will be making inquiries with his fellow inmates and will also be checking for any possible harassment from inmates or prison staff that might have triggered Pawar’s extreme step.