The man was lodged in the Rigauli Jail in Chitrakoot district. (Representational image)
A 50-year-old prisoner, accused of raping a minor, allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in the Rigauli Jail in Uttar Pradesh's Chitrakoot district, police said on Friday.
"On Thursday night, undertrial prisoner Santosh Shukla (50) committed suicide by hanging himself with the help of a scarf in the barrack toilet. The jail administration reported the matter on Friday," Chitrakoot Superintendent of Police (SP) Ankit Mittal said.
"Shukla was a resident of Chhibon village in the Mau police station area and was sent to jail last month for raping a minor girl," he added.
The body has been sent to a government hospital for post-mortem, the SP said, adding that the reason behind the extreme step taken by the prisoner was not immediately known and the matter is being probed.