Prisoner kills fellow inmate in Madurai central jail

Madurai: A 32-year-old remand prisoner was murdered inside his prison cell by a fellow inmate at the Madurai Central Prison in the small hours on Wednesday.

Sources in the prison claim both the murderer and the deceased suffered from depression. Prison authorities had rushed Senthil (32), who had sustained grievous head injuries, to the Government Rajaji Hospital, but he died on the way.

Around 1 am, the prison official heard a loud screaming noises inside the premises. “When we rushed towards those direction, we spotted Senthil with blood injuries side the cell ( D 12 ) desperately gasping for air,” said the official sources from prison.

The other remand inmate Senthil Kumar, who was lodged with the deceased, had trashed him on the iron bars of the cell. The blood was found smeared over the walls of the cell, said the sources.

The officials first took Senthil to the hospital inside the prison, but as he continued to bleed profoundly, the doctors there referred him to GRH.

The sources said that both of them were undergoing imprisonment for murder case.  Sethil kumar from Kalikudi near Madurai murdered his father and Senthil from Keerathurai murdered a elderly man over petty quarrel.“They were also suffering from depression,” said the sources.

However senior prison officer dismissed the claims that both of they were lodged in the same cell because they were suffering from depression. “How will we allow the depressed prisoners to stay together,” he questioned.

“The incident might have occurred due to sudden provocation, but we need to conduct through investigation on the case,” said the officer.The prison sources also claims that Senthil Kumar reported to confessed to the police that he was under the possession of ‘holy’ spirit.

Meanwhile the Madurai Judicial Magistrate V Vishnu Madhu conducted to judicial inquiry on this incident. The relatives of deceased Senthil is refusing to receive the body demanding proper explanation from the prison authorities.

“My husband received a call from the prison authorities around 1 am informing about his death and asked us to visit to GRH. Since then we heard nothing from them,” said Rathinam, a close relative of the deceased.

Senthil wife Thirukammal was seen inconsolable along with the three children in the mortuary in the hospital.The police sources claims that Senthil was notorious for picking up quarrel and assaulting the neighbours, his wife left to her parents house few months ago.

Though Senthil  received bail order on the murder case, he was not released from jail because his parents didn’t produced security bond for him, said the officer.

However Thirukammal claims that they allowed his to stay in the prison hoping that would bring in positive change in his
attitude.