New Delhi (CNN) – One of the men accused of gang raping and fatally beating a woman on a New Delhi bus was found dead in his jail cell Monday. Police say Ram Singh hanged himself. But his lawyer and parents claim he was murdered. “There was no reason for him to commit suicide. There is some foul play,” Singh’s attorney V.K. Anand said. Singh was housed in New Delhi’s Tihar Prison. Last year, the prison recorded 18 deaths, including two suicides, according to CNN affiliate CNN-IBN.
“Ram Singh did not kill himself. He was murdered,” Singh’s father, Mangi Lai, told the affiliate. New Delhi’s Chief Minister Sheila Dik**** said she has ordered an inquiry. Authorties say Singh was the driver of the bus aboard which several men brutally raped a 23-year-old woman on December 16. The gang rape, and the woman’s subsequent death from injuries, prompted angry protests over the country’s treatment of women and handling of sexual attacks. Police charged Singh and four other men with murder, rape and kidnapping. Their trial began in February. If convicted, the men could face the death penalty. A sixth suspect is 17 and will be tried separately in juvenile court.
The December rape gripped India and led to calls for stricter laws on sexual assault and changes in cultural attitudes toward women. Most Indian women have stories of sexual harassment and abuse on public transportation or on the streets, according to the Indian Council on Global Relations.
This was inevitable; was going to happen sooner than later. One would think they’d provide maximum security for the accused of such high profile cases.
tihar jail is in fact the most high profile jail in india, housing the VVIPs to the accused of the most sensitive cases. with all kinds of hippie-style meditation and music and what not. i don’t know how he could have been in his cell with anything that he could hang himself with. even the worst jail cells have that as protocol.
These suspects, has it been proved that they were the actual culprits? With DNA-matching or anything?
It is possible that the police arrested random poor (as in ghareeb) guys because of pressure and the international media attention.
I hope that is not the case, but it could be very well possible.
Ram Singh was picked up at his house the following day still wearing the shirt that had the victims blood stains on it. All of the alleged men involved were positively ID’d by the victim prior to her death in a Singapore hospital.
“Police have said they will rely on DNA evidence to prove the charges and the possession by the accused of the victims’ property. According to the prosecution documents, one of the accused kept a ring and a mobile phone taken from the woman during the attack; a second kept the more expensive phone stolen from her friend as well as his shoes; a third took a watch and cash worth 1,000 rupees (£12); the 17-year-old received a bank card and 1,100 rupees (£13.20), the documents claim.”
***"A DNA investigation of bloodstained clothes and body swabs has linked all five men and a juvenile accused of the gang rape and murder of a woman in New Delhi to the crime, providing evidence the prosecution claims will be enough to convict them. ***Prosecutors say their case will also hinge on cellphone records and on testimony from the dying woman and a male companion who was attacked with her on a moving bus in the capital on December 16."
It seems like there is sufficient evidence linking those who are charged.
