A rape-murder accused died by suicide in Maharashtra’s Taloja jail in the wee hours of Sunday, April 13.
A Taloja jail official said Vishal Gawli, who was accused of kidnapping, raping and murdering a minor girl in Kalyan, Maharashtra, used a towel to hang himself to death in Taloja Central Jail.
Vishal Gawli (35) was found hanging in the prison toilet at around 3.30 am, officials told PTI.
“His body was sent to JJ Hospital for post-mortem. Accused Vishal Gawli was imprisoned in Taloja jail for three and a half months,” the Taloja Jail official told news agency ANI.
An official from Kharghar police station said that Gawli went to the toilet and allegedly used a towel to hang himself. The prison authorities later found the body.
The local police were immediately informed and a panchnama (spot inspection) was conducted.
The body was sent to the government-run JJ Hospital in neighbouring Mumbai for a post-mortem examination to determine the exact cause of the death, the official said.
Rape and murder case
Gawli was accused of raping and murdering a 12-year-old girl in Kalyan area of Thane in Maharashtra in December 2024. He and his wife Sakshi were arrested on charges of kidnapping for ransom, rape, murder, causing disappearance of evidence and other offences.
“Vishal Gawli raped and murdered the girl, while Sakshi helped him dump the body in Bapgaon,” a police statement earlier said.
The incident had sparked widespread outrage and demands for swift and stringent punishment for the perpetrators.
The child went missing from Kolsewadi locality on December 24, and the body was found later at Bapgaon village in Padgha under Thane Rural police jurisdiction, officials earlier said.
The couple was arrested under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The Kalyan police in February this year filed a 948-page chargesheet against the couple.
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