Araria (Bihar), Apr 19 (PTI) A 46-year-old undertrial prisoner was found dead under mysterious circumstances inside Bihar's Araria district jail, officials said on Saturday.

While prison authorities claimed that Sohrab Khan died by suicide inside a toilet within the jail premises, his family members alleged that he was a victim of custodial torture by jail officials.

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Talking to reporters, jail superintendent Sujeet Kumar Jha said, "Khan was brought to prison by Palasi police on Thursday. He complained of uneasiness to the prison officials and was immediately admitted to the jail clinic. Later, without the knowledge of the officials, he went into the toilet and died by suicide. Khan was taken to the nearest government hospital on Friday, where he was declared brought dead."

Later, sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Ram Kumar Singh visited the government hospital and said, "The body has been sent for post-mortem examination. The exact cause of death will be known only after we receive the report. The matter is being probed by the authorities. He died inside the prison."

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However, family members of the deceased disputed the official version of events. They alleged that Khan died as a result of torture by prison staff and demanded a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)