Bhubaneswar/Baripada, Dec. 1: An undertrial prisoner died today at Jharpada jail, possibly because of a heart attack, while a 25-year-old man allegedly committed suicide in police custody at Baripada in Mayurbhanj district.

Though the Jharpada jail authorities claimed that the undertrial, Benudhar Jena, 45, died following a heart attack, the family members alleged medical negligence.

In Baripada, cops claimed that the deceased, Chandan Das, who was arrested in connection with a burglary case, committed suicide by hanging himself in the toilet of the police station.

Sources said that Jena, a native of Madhupur on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, was in the jail since April last year in a murder case along with two of his cousins.

"He had been suffering from fever for the past few days. We have been asking the jail authorities to treat him outside the jail. But the authorities did not take our demand seriously. We were told that he was administered a wrong injection, which led to his death," said the nephew of the deceased, Chittaranjan Jena., including inspector in-charge of Lakshmisagar police station Rajat Kumar Ray,"We are waiting for the post-mortem report to ascertain the exact cause of death."Sources said that was only one doctor for 700 prisoners, including undertrials, in the jail. Jail authorities said that in case of emergency, the prisoners are admitted to Capital Hospital or are referred to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. that he had draped himself in while going to the washroom<>. No physical torture was meted out to him," he said. Das was rushed to the district headquarters hospital, but he was declared dead on arrival.

Family members and relatives of Das gathered outside the police station and demanded action against the erring policemen. The district administration announced Rs 1 lakh as ex-gratia to the family members of the deceased. Three cops, including two assistant sub-inspectors Umesh Nayak and Bikartana Lenka, have been placed under suspension.

Additional superintendent of police Gobinda Chandra Mallick said: "The incident would be probed according to NHRC guidelines."