Mumbai Crime: 21-year-old rape accused in custody tries to kill self

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A 21-year-old man arrested on charges of raping a minor girl in Malwani last week allegedly tried to commit suicide in the Borivli lockup late on Monday night. According to the police, Afzal Mehboob Shaikh was rushed to Dr Babasaheb Shatabdi Hospital and is stable.

Police said Shaikh was arrested by the Malwani police for the kidnap and rape of a minor girl and was booked under charges of the POCSO Act. He was then produced in court and remanded to police custody in Borivli. He was kept in the lockup on the fourth floor with four more accused.

Police said on Monday, around 11.15pm, Lalu Khani Jafri, 54, an accused in another case, went to the washroom, when he saw Shaikh trying to commit suicide. He alerted the constable on duty, and with the help of other policemen, they rescued Shaikh and rushed him to a hospital.

On the complaint of on-duty constable Kerba Gadekhar, 54, the Borivli police registered a case and booked the accused under section 309 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He was produced before court and remanded to judicial custody.

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