Navi Mumbai: An undertrial accused of the kidnapping, rape, and murder of a 13-year-old girl from Kalyan allegedly died by suicide at Taloja Central Jail early Sunday morning.
The deceased, Vishal Gawali, 31, had been in custody since January after his arrest in connection with the brutal crime that took place on December 24 last year. He was found hanging inside the jail toilet area around 3 to 3:30 am, officials said.
“There is an open toilet in the barrack, with a wall and grille partition. Gawali was found hanging from the grille using a thin towel,” said Kharghar senior police inspector Dipak Surve. CCTV footage reportedly shows Gawali walking toward the toilet while other inmates were asleep. His body was discovered after another inmate entered the toilet and raised an alarm.
Gawali was arrested by Kolsewadi police along with his wife, who is accused of aiding in the disposal of the child’s body. She is currently lodged in Byculla Jail. The child had gone missing from Kalyan on December 23 and was found murdered the next day. According to police, the couple transported the body in an autorickshaw and dumped it in a graveyard in Bhiwandi. Gawali was arrested on December 25, a day after his wife’s arrest.
The case triggered widespread public outrage, following which Thane police externed Gawali’s three brothers—Shyam, Navnath, and Akash—from the districts of Thane, Mumbai, and Raigad for two years to prevent potential unrest.
Prison authorities said the doctor declared Gawali dead at the scene. A magistrate conducted a medical inquest, and the body has been sent to JJ Hospital in Mumbai for post-mortem.
During a panchnama of the barrack, officials recovered a diary from Gawali, in which he claimed to be innocent and expressed anguish over his wife’s silence and emotional distancing. “He seemed to believe that his wife had turned against him, which contributed to his mental distress,” said a jail official.
Gawali was a habitual offender with several previous cases, including sexual assault and outraging the modesty of women. The trial in the current case had begun at the Kalyan Sessions Court.
An Accidental Death Report (ADR) has been registered with the Kharghar Police, and further investigation is underway.
