Mumbai, April 13 : Vishal Gawli, the man accused of the kidnapping, rape, and murder of a 12-year-old girl in Kalyan, Maharashtra, was found dead by suicide in Taloja jail early Sunday morning.

Gawli, who had been imprisoned for approximately three and a half months, allegedly hanged himself with a towel in the toilet around 3:30 am. His body has been sent to JJ Hospital for a post-mortem examination, according to the preliminary reports.

Kharghar police have confirmed the incident, stating that the accused took his own life inside the jail premises, leaving the police team "shocked."

The case against Gawli originated in December 2024, when the young girl went missing from Kalyan.

Following a complaint filed by her family, an initial case of kidnapping under Section 363 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered. Tragically, the girl's body was later discovered, leading to the addition of Section 302 (murder) of the IPC to the charges.

During the subsequent investigation, police apprehended Gawli, the primary suspect, from Buldhana. He was held in police custody until January 2, 2025.

Authorities also interrogated ten individuals, including relatives and acquaintances of the accused, as part of their inquiry.

The investigation revealed that Vishal Gawli had allegedly lured the minor girl to his residence within the Kolsewadi police station jurisdiction in Kalyan, where he sexually assaulted and then brutally murdered her.

He is then alleged to have concealed her body in a bag. Gawli, described as having "goon tendencies" and having created "terror in the area where he lived," was a rickshaw puller with a reported history of five previous molestation cases registered against him, according to the sources.

Further investigation uncovered the alleged involvement of Gawli's wife, Sakshi, in the disposal of the victim's body.

Reports indicate that after informing Sakshi, who works in a private bank, about the crime, the couple decided to dispose of the body together.

Gawli allegedly transported the body in a bag in a friend's rickshaw to Bapgaon and discarded it there before fleeing to Buldhana, where he was eventually apprehended by the police.

/IANS