Acid attack accused kills self in lock-up

A man accused of throwing acid on a woman committed suicide in police custody here Saturday, police said.

Lakhan Singh hanged himself in Vijay Nagar police station here. He had allegedly thrown acid on a married woman after she refused to marry him. He was arrested late Friday night.

Superintendent of Police Shiv Shankar Yadav said the accused used his shirt as a rope for committing suicide. "He used a hole in one of the walls of the lock-up to hang himself," he added.

But a doctor at the city's Sanjeevni Hospital, where Lakhan's body was taken, claimed there was no hanging mark around the neck and that the policemen who brought him to the hospital told him that the accused had consumed poison.

"I just declared him dead after examination. But the family members came to the hospital and claimed that the accused was killed by the police," Sumit Panwar, who attended Lakhan, said.

Superintendent of Police Shiv Shankar Yadav had called a press conference at 2 p.m. to announce Lakhan Singh's arrest. Before he could address the media, he was informed about the suicide and rushed to the hospital, where the accused was declared dead.

Lakhan Singh had Friday thrown acid on Nisha Sheik, 30, who sustained 30 percent burn injuries on her face, torso and arms. She is in a stable condition in hospital. Lakhan Singh was an LPG cylinder supplier.

"The victim is from Madhepura in Bihar. She lives in Vijay Nagar area. The accused lived in the same locality," Yadav said.