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ISKCON employee commits suicide in jail

Rifat Jawaid in Calcutta

Sureswar Das, an employee of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, or ISKCON, was found dead in Calcutta's Presidency Jail on Wednesday night. According to jail officials, Das committed suicide by hanging himself from the ceiling.

Das was serving a jail sentence in a rape case.

He was charged with raping the widow of a former ISKCON employee in June.

The resident of Purulia was allegedly raped when she travelled to Calcutta, for her late husband's monthly honorarium from ISKCON's Gurusaday road office.

In her first information report filed at Hastings police station, the victim stated that Das detained her for two days. Das allegedly raped her several times and warned her not to report the matter to the police.

Acting on the FIR, officers at Hastings police station arrested Das and produced him before a lower court, which remanded him to jail custody on July 10.

Presidency jail superintendent Parimal Das told rediff.com that a departmental inquiry had been ordered into Das's death.

"We are expecting the post-mortem report on Thursday night and only then will we be able to comment. The inquiry's findings are expected in a few days," Das added.

West Bengal director general of police Deepak Sanyal and inspector general of police (law and order) Prasun Mukherjee visited the jail premises following the suicide.

ISKCON officials refused to comment on the suicide.

Das's death has compounded the organisation's embarrassment as it finds itself in a predicament following widespread charges of sexual abuse against children.

Late Thursday evening, ISKCON members demonstrated outside the jail as the authorities refused to release the body of the employee.

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