In Chandigarh, rape-accused auto driver allegedly attempts suicide with broken glass

Mohd Irfan, an auto driver, was arrested on Friday, almost a week after allegedly raping a 22-year-old woman along with his two accomplices.

CHANDIGARH: An auto-rickshaw driver, the prime accused in the case of raping a woman in Chandigarh a few days ago, allegedly attempted suicide inside a jail today by stabbing himself with a “piece of broken glass,” police said.

Mohd Irfan (29) was arrested on Friday, almost a week after allegedly raping the 22-year-old woman along with his two accomplices. “He was taken to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) here, where his condition was stated to be out of danger,” Station House Officer (SHO) Inspector Ranjodh Singh said.

Irfan, who was lodged in the Burail jail, allegedly broke a mirror installed outside the barrack for inmates, he said.

“He stabbed himself multiple times in the stomach with a piece of broken glass,” Mr Singh said.

After his fellow inmates raised an alarm, Irfan was taken to a dispensary in the jail premises. Later, he was taken to the GMCH in sector 32 here, he said.

“His condition is stable,” the SHO said, adding Irfan will be booked for attempt to commit suicide.

Irfan, a migrant from Uttar Pradesh, was residing in Zirakpur.

The Chandigarh Police on Saturday nabbed Irfan’s two accomplices, Kismat Ali and Mohammad Garib (both 21 years old), from Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi and Faizabad districts, respectively.

The police said yesterday all the three accused planned to rape the woman, hailing from Dehradun, on November 17.

She had taken the auto rickshaw after attending a stenography class from Sector 37 here.