LUCKNOW The bodies of two murder accused lodged in the Sultanpur district jail were found hanging from a tree on the jail premises on Wednesday morning, said officials of prison headquarters in Lucknow.
They claimed it was a suicide, saying the two in their early twenties were apparently feeling guilty as they had killed a chicken farm worker by mistake.
The deceased were identified as Vijay Pasi alias Kariya and Manoj Raidas alias Majju. They were lodged in jail for allegedly murdering a man in a village of Amethi district, stated a press note from the prison headquarters.
The two were arrested in Amethi on May 30 and an FIR was registered with Jamo police station of Amethi under IPC sections 302 and 201.
A Sultanpur jail official said there was panic on the jail premises when the two bodies were spotted by other inmates on Wednesday morning. “It is a bit surprising that two jail inmates together decided to end their lives by hanging themselves,” he added.
IG (Ayodhya range) Praveen Kumar, along with other senior district level police and district administration officials, visited the jail to examine the matter.
“Preliminary probe hinted that the two accused were apparently guilty for the crime that they committed, following which they ended their lives,” he added.
DIG (prison) Hemant Kutiyal said the other jail inmates lodged with the duo informed that the two accused had a bath and prayed for the last time before heading towards the tree and hanging themselves. Sultanpur jail superintendent Umesh Singh had been asked to probe the matter thoroughly and submit his report at the earliest.