The Tribune, January 19, 2003

A case of attempted suicide or assault by jail inmates?
Our Correspondent

Rewari, January 18
Following a temporary lull in the incidents of heinous crimes, a case of gruesome murder as well as an attempted suicide by an undertrial were reported from here this week. Though the police have registered a case of attempt to suicide, the undertrial has told some journalists in private that he had an altercation with some hardened criminals on the jail premises and it was they who had inflicted the injury on his scrotum. According to the police version, Ram Niwas Sharma (45) of Sudhrana village of the Kosli tehsil tried to commit suicide by making a deep abrasion on his scrotum with a blade in the District Jail here on Thursday. He was rushed to the local civil hospital. He is now stated to be out of danger. The jail authorities have asserted that he took the step because he was feeling depressed after he was remanded in judicial custody here in a case of dowry death on December 13, 2002.

Contrary to this, Ram Niwas Sharma is stated to have told some journalists in private that he had a scuffle over some matter with some hardened criminals in the jail who inflicted the injury on him to teach him a lesson. However the police have registered a case of attempted suicide under Section 309 of the IPC against him.

In the other incident, three unidentified persons allegedly stoned a young rickshaw-puller, Lal Singh, to death near here on Tuesday night. After the crime, they threw the body in a field near Gokal Garh village, 3 km from here, from where it was recovered by the police on Wednesday. The criminals also hid the rickshaw, which they had hired from the Railway Chowk, in a pile of chaff stored in an abandoned room near the roadside. The deceased was a resident of Chaudharywara mohalla here. Following a complaint lodged by Shyam Lal, brother of the deceased, the police have registered a case of murder. Even after four days, the police are still clueless about the killers. The motive of the criminals could not be ascertained.