A 49-year-old murder convict lodged in a jail in Maharashtra's Kolhapur district died allegedly after he was assaulted by other inmates, officials said on Friday.
The victim, who was serving a life sentence, became violent and harmed a fellow inmate which triggered the assault on him on Thursday evening, they said.
The incident took place at Kalamba jail in Kolhapur, around 230km from Pune, when inmates were watching television in a section of the prison.
According to the jail authorities, the deceased, Nishikant Kamble, was on medication for a mental ailment.
"On Thursday, when inmates were watching television in one of the sections of the jail, Kamble allegedly attacked a fellow inmate with a tile after they had a verbal spat. The other inmates intervened and restrained Kamble," said Chandramani Indulkar, jail superintendent.
"A group of inmates took Kamble aside. However, when he tried to attack them also and became violent, the other inmates pinned him to the ground and kicked and punched him," he said.
The official said no jail personnel was present when the incident took place.
"After Kamble was found unconscious, jail staffers presumed he could be suffering from chest pain and blood pressure, and took him to hospital where he died during treatment at around 10.45 pm," Indulkar said.
Kamble was awarded life imprisonment for murdering his friend in 2003 in Kolhapur, he added.
