Man facing POCSO charges dies after jumping from Bengaluru court building: Report

A 35-year-old man, Gautam M, committed suicide by jumping from the Bengaluru City Civil Court building while in custody for alleged sexual abuse.

A 35-year-old man facing charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act allegedly ended his life by jumping from the fifth floor of the Bengaluru City Civil Court building on Thursday. Police identified the deceased as Gautam M, a resident of Bengaluru who owned an electrical shop in Chickpet.

The accused man had escaped from Bengaluru police during a hearing and was later pronounced dead at Victoria Hospital. (iStock)

According to officials, Gautam had been arrested on April 21 by the Adugodi police for allegedly sexually abusing a minor girl. Since then, he had been in judicial custody at the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison. On Thursday morning, he was escorted to the court for a hearing related to his case, reported news agency PTI.

Police said that during the court proceedings, Gautam reportedly managed to slip away from police custody. In a sudden act, he broke free from his handcuffs and ran towards an open area on the fifth floor of the building. Before officers could stop him, he allegedly jumped from the height, falling to the ground below.

Court staff and the police immediately rushed to his aid and shifted him to Victoria Hospital with severe injuries. Despite efforts by doctors, Gautam succumbed shortly after being admitted. A senior police officer confirmed that an investigation has been launched to ascertain how he managed to escape from the officers escorting him and whether there were any lapses in security.

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(With inputs from PTI)