3 days Ago By Express News Service
PUDUCHERRY: G Vivekanandhan (56), an under trial in the rape and murder case of a nine-year-old dalit girl in Muthialpet was found to have died by suicide in the toilet of his cell in Central Prison, Kalapet in the early hours on Monday. Another accused under trial in the same case, Karuna (19), who was also lodged in the same cell with Vivekandhan heard a sound around 5 am and found that Vivekanandhan had died by suicide and raised an alarm, a prison official said . A case has been registered in Kalapet police station and his body has been sent to Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital for postmortem.
The was abducted, sexually assaulted, and brutally murdered in March this year. The horrific incident came to light when the girl's body was recovered in a sack from a drain near her residence in Solainagar on March 5. The incident caused huge public outrage.
Two neighbours of the victim, and lodged in Central Prison, Kalapet. The police in May filed a 500-page chargesheet in the case. Since his arrest Vivekanandhan was nurturing suicidal thoughts, jail Superintendent V Bhaskaran had said on March 11.
Vivekanandhan was kept in a separate cell along with his co-accused for security reasons on the advice of Superintendent of Police (East) Lakshmi Soujanya on March 7. During counselling he expressed repentance and wanted to end his life, officials said. Since then the Prison authorities have been keeping a close watch on him, said Baskaran, adding that a separate warder was keeping a close vigil on these two prisoners.
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