Medical expert told Wolverhampton husband accused of wife's murder 'was coping well' before prison death

Jai Singh was discovered in his prison cell on January 2022. He was due to stand trial over the murder of his wife at their Wolverhampton home.

Dr Ankur Agarwal, a consultant forensic psychiatrist, said he was made aware of the 50-year-old after a referral was made to the Hatherton Centre in Stafford.

Dr Dinesh Maganty had referred Mr Singh to the mental health facility, and wrote a report, after assessing him via a video link in December 2021, an inquest heard.

A referral meeting took place at the centre, which comes under the Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, on December 13 where his case was discussed.

Dr Agarwal said concerns had been raised about following the correct NHS processes, with referrals needing to be handled through the prison's inreach service which provides mental health services to prisoners.

And in the case of Mr Singh the referral had been made by Dr Maganty to them, rather than through the team, but it was determined the centre's team had a responsibility to follow-up the concerns which Dr Agarwal did.

The expert, who is now the clinical director of forensic services at the health trust as of last year, called the inreach services at HMP Birmingham and explained who he was and the concerns, an inquest heard.

He told Birmingham Coroner's Court he asked if they were aware of Mr Singh, which they were, and was informed he was seen by the team and by a GP who felt whilst the 50-year-old had low mood and anxiety, it appeared not unusual in the context of where he found himself.

Dr Agarwal then asked if they wanted to refer him to the centre, but it was deemed "not necessary" at this point and made it clear the site was open for a referral if the situation changed, the coroner was told.

The expert made the call to the prison on December 13 at 3.11pm which lasted around four minutes, according to his call logs, and had then sent emails to confirm this including Dr Maganty saying he was thought to be "coping well" and a referral was not necessary, as per the prison team.

The exchange between the pair resulted in Dr Maganty saying he would "prefer" if Mr Singh was seen by a psychiatrist because of his family's concerns, but Dr Agarwal said the referral process must be raised via the prison team who have oversight of him.

A jury heard assessments of the 50-year-old whilst in prison described his mood as "low" and he heard voices in his head and had suicidal thoughts, with the GP making similar findings, the inquest heard.

And asked by Coroner Emma Brown if that was consistent with someone "coping well", Dr Agarwal answered "no" and he would've asked the prison team to assess him again at the very least by a nurse initially and then a psychiatrist as per the process.

Jai Singh had been due to stand trial for murdering his wife Sukhjeet Uppal, 40, who was found stabbed at their home in Tangmere Road, Wolverhampton, on September 19, 2021.

The inquest by jury at Birmingham Coroners Court is continuing.

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