Nagpur: A 34 year old under trial inmate at Nagpur Central Jail died under mysterious circumstances in the jail premises on Monday night. The deceased Anurag Rajkumar Khanna, resident of Ballarshah in Chandrapur district has been serving jail while being under trial in a robbery case at Butibori. Interestingly Khanna’s wife met him a week ago on January 14, when he was brought to a court at Karanja Lad for hearing. Incidentally, it was Khanna’s birthday also on the day, he last met his wife who gave him Rs 1000 also. Jail authorities claimed that Khanna was not keeping well for the past few days and died due to heart attack. They claimed that Khanna died while being taken to the hospital after he complained of health issues in the night. On the other hand, Khanna’s wife Nikita, his sister and brother in law, who rushed to the jail upon hearing the news, raised suspicion over the death and termed it a ‘cold blooded’ murder. Meanwhile, the post mortem report was awaited till the time of filing the report.
Khanna’s death has brought many questions to the fore and put senior jail authorities under suspicion. Khanna was under judicial custody in a robbery case that took place in Butibori some months ago. His relatives got a call from Butibori police station informing them about his death. Khanna’s death has sent outcry among social activists who alleged conspiracy behind his mysterious demise.
Archana Bhoyar, Maharashtra president of a less know social organisation Anti-Crime Mission, who also examined Khanna’s dead body alleged that prima facie it appears to be the case of murder. “I doubt he (Khanna) might be poisoned and the jail authorities are trying to cover up the crime. We demand the CCTV footage to know the truth and get justice to the kin,” Bhoyar told Nagpur Today.
Khanna’s wife Nikita also alleged foul play behind his husband’s mysterious death. She revealed, “I met him on January 14 when he was brought for hearing at Karanja Lad. There he did not complain about his health issues and was rather appearing well. It was his birthday and I also gave him Rs 1000 before he left for Nagpur jail. But this news was shocking to me.”
Lead to Murder – Who is ‘Harjeet’!
While the claim of Khanna’s natural death is getting difficult to digest for his relatives and social activists, a major thread emerged out of the closet which can establish the murder theory. Talking to Nagpur Today, Khanna’s wife Nikita revealed that when she last met her husband he told her about a tiff in the jail with a person named Harjeet. While Harjeet’s identity is left to be established, the role of jail authorities also cannot be ruled out.
Meanwhile, Bhoyar has demanded CBI inquiry in the case as she felt it was more complicated than what appeared on the surface. “There’s more than what meets the eye”, she alleged, adding that they wanted justice for the deceased’s wife and relatives.
