According to jail officials, Dehri hailed from Dukhan Dehri village in Jharkhand’s Dumka district. He had been transferred from Central Jail Dumka and entered the ‘surrender prison’ on February 9, 2021. He was facing trial in eight pending criminal cases related to Naxal activities.

The incident came to light during the morning headcount when Dehri, who was lodged in Ward No. D, did not respond to calls from prison staff.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Jail Superintendent Jitendra Kumar said the deceased was an unmarried man from Dumka district and had been living alone in one of the 100 cottages meant for surrendered Naxals.

“Each inmate is given an individual unit that includes a room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. This isn’t a typical prison, but a rehabilitation facility for surrendered cadres,” Kumar said.

The deceased had been moved to the Dumka prison in February 2021 and was an undertrial in connection with eight different cases. He had reportedly surrendered on April 22, 2020, after initially joining the banned outfit due to a land dispute in his village.

“He joined the Naxal outfit hoping they would help resolve his land issue, but when that didn’t happen, he became disillusioned and surrendered,” Kumar added.

Authorities found the body after security personnel conducting morning rounds received no response when they knocked on his door. “The cottages are locked from the outside at night. In this case, he had also locked the inner door, which is against protocol. When guards received no response, they forcibly opened the door and found him dead. He tied a wire to the hook and then used a rope,” Kumar said.

The room was not under CCTV surveillance, as the surrender prison does not follow the standard high-security setup of regular prisons. Officials said the inmate had shown no signs of mental illness during his stay.

“He wasn’t under any psychiatric care. Those with such issues are referred to Ranchi for treatment,” Kumar said.

However, another official admitted there is a lack of regular psychological counselling at the facility. “We don’t have a trained counsellor in this jail, and honestly, most prisons across the country don’t. There’s a serious staff crunch. Sometimes NGOs conduct small sessions, but nothing is regular or institutionalised,” he said.

Asked about possible stress or depression, Kumar said while Dehri was not undergoing psychiatric care, one fellow inmate shared that the deceased occasionally spoke of stress over unresolved land disputes.

According to official information, no suicide incidents have been reported in the Hazaribagh Open Jail in recent years. However, in the last two to three months, four such cases have occurred in other jails across the state; two in Hatuwadh, one in Dumka, and one in Central Jail Hazaribagh.

The incident has been reported to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), and police at Lohsinghana station have been informed to register an Unnatural Death (UD) case. The family, including his parents and brother, has also been informed. Further investigation is underway.