Mumbai: 40-year-old accused in cabin crew’s murder case found dead in jail

After not getting any response, the guard forced entry into the bathroom where he found Atwal dead, said the police

The 40-year-old man arrested for the alleged murder of a 24-year-old flight attendant in Marol was found dead in a lock-up in Andheri on Friday morning, police officials said.

Atwal was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead, said another senior police officer (Representative photo)

According to police, the accused, Vikram Atwal, was found dead around 8am on Friday when the police guards changed shifts. When a guard arrived in the morning, he found one of the 23 inmates missing from the lock-up, said a police officer. The guard found the bathroom door locked from inside, added the police officer, on the condition of anonymity.

After not getting any response, the guard forced entry into the bathroom where he found Atwal dead, said the police.

Atwal was taken to the general lock-up at the Andheri police station on Thursday night after Powai police completed his interrogation, said an officer from Mumbai crime branch.

Atwal was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead on arrival, said another senior police officer. The body has been sent for a post-mortem examination, the officer added further.

Atwal was a member of the cleaning staff at the NG Complex housing society in Marol, Mumbai, where the flight attendant was found dead on September 3. According to police, the 24-year-old had several altercations with Atwal in the past, and had summoned him to the flat to clean a choked pipe.

Atwal reached the flat with a knife with an intent to rape the trainee air hostess, the police had said earlier.

In his statement to the police, Atwal had said that the “two got in an argument and he attacked her”. But she managed to wrest the knife from him. “She snatched the knife from him at one point and hit him hard on the head with its wooden end,” said another officer, adding Atwal eventually overpowered the woman.

“The accused then slit her throat and left her bleeding in the bathroom, where she was found dead on the same day in the evening,” said the officer on the condition of anonymity. Atwal was arrested on September 5 and sent to three-day police custody, which ended on September 8.