Patna, Nov. 23: Sunil Singh, an accused in the murder of former minister and RJD leader Brijbihari Prasad lodged in Beur jail, died today after allegedly consuming pesticide.

Sunil was in his early 40s. He died in Patna Medical College and Hospital where he was brought after the jail authorities found him vomiting severely.

Singh was the cousin of LJP MP Surajbhan Singh. Surajbhan, Munna Shukla and Rajan Tewari are co-accused in the murder of former minister Brijbihari Prasad, who was killed in 2001.

Additional chief judicial magistrate Mithilesh K. Roy has ordered a magisterial inquiry, under Devnand Tripathy, to probe into the circumstances that led to Singh’s death. So far, the magistrate has spoken with the jail inmates and with jail and Patna hospital doctors and Sunil’s family regarding the incident.

Reportedly the inmates have informed the jail superintendent, Dilip Kumar, that Sunil was “acutely depressed” failing to receive a bail in the murder case, wherein others got them. Sunil was incarcerated on July 19, 2001.

Dilip Kumar, in his report to the Patna civil court, has written that Sunil started vomiting on Thursday morning and after primary examination by jail doctors he was “soon taken to the Patna medical college”. Though his condition improved for a while there, it deteriorated last night. Kumar also told the court that Singh was “agonised” after the co-accused received their bail.