Judicial inquiry ordered; family alleges murder in Tihar
Ram Singh, the main accused in the sensational Vasant Vihar gang rape of a young physiotherapy student in a running bus last December, was found hanging in his prison cell inside the high security Tihar Central Jail here on Monday.
While a judicial inquiry into the death of the 34-year-old undertrial is on, his family has alleged he was murdered. However, jail authorities suspect it to be a case of suicide.
Singh was lodged in a cell of Jail No.3 along with three other undertrials. The incident came to light around 5.45 a.m. when a guard on an early-hour shift spotted him hanging from the ceiling grill with threads drawn from a carpet wrapped around his neck. The other three inmates were then asleep.
‘No pulse’
The guard raised an alarm and alerted his seniors. A doctor was summoned and the accused was examined. When the doctor did not find any pulse, he declared him dead.
Subsequently proceedings were initiated to intimate family members and for inquest by the magistrate.
The jail officials informed the police around 7.30 a.m., following which the body was brought down.
The magistrate soon reached the spot and initiated a probe.
A statement issued by the jail administration said: “The matter is being inquired into by a judicial officer as per Section 176 Cr.PC.
The exact cause of death would be known after receipt of the inquiry officer report which includes the post-mortem report and forensic examination.”
Inside the cell, the authorities found a bucket, which they suspect was used by the undertrial to reach the ceiling grill.
His younger brother Mukesh, also an accused in the case and lodged in another jail, was among those informed. He was allowed to see the body after he returned from a court appearance around 2 p.m. “Singh’s parents had reached the jail soon after they were informed,” said a jail official.
Police sources said it was likely that the incident took place some time after 3.30 a.m. While jail officials indicated that Singh committed suicide and there did not seem to be any foul play, his lawyer V.K. Anand rejected the claim, stating that there were no circumstances for his client to commit suicide. He alleged that Singh had been murdered and that the arguments of the defence had weakened the prosecution’s case and they would have proved Singh’s innocence.
“I met him on Friday too. He used to be in the court for several hours for trial and there was no indication that he would commit suicide. The circumstances under which he died should be probed,” Mr. Anand said, adding that he would move an application seeking better protection for the other accused.
For his part, Singh’s father Mangelal said his son could not have committed suicide as both his hands were broken. He alleged that his son was murdered by the jail authorities in connivance with the gang-rape victim’s family. He also alleged that his son had been sodomised inside the jail.
“Why would he commit suicide? He was never afraid of being hanged even if convicted. In fact, soon after his arrest he had expressed his wish to be hanged. They did not allow the legal process to be completed and killed my child,” he charged.
Following an order by the magistrate to conduct the post-mortem by a panel of senior doctors at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, Singh’s body was transported to the AIIMS mortuary around 4 p.m.
Magisterial inquiry
Earlier, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said, following a meeting with Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, that a magisterial inquiry was ordered as per law.
Singh, along with the other adult co-accused, was to be produced at the Saket Court on Monday afternoon for the trial of the gang rape-cum-murder case. A resident of Ravi Dass Camp at R.K. Puram, he was the first person to be arrested after the police tracked down the chartered bus in which the victim was raped. On the basis of his purported revelations, the police arrested the other five accused and made crucial recoveries. In January, he was charge-sheeted along with his brother Mukesh and accomplices Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Akshay. Singh had pleaded not guilty in the court.
The death of the prime accused in Tihar Jail was once again proved that Indian jails are neither safe or secure. The incident is serious in the context of simmering agitation against the henious crime committed by the accused Ramsingh and his aids. Another way,a convict who have to undergone the entire court and law proceeding according to the Judicial system has ended by the carelessness of the Jail authority. An already paralysed system has once again became vulnerable.
The suicide by an accused in the high security prisons raise a number of
questions about the punishment centres. The cases of atrocities,
torture, human rights violation are rampant. Proper steps are needed to
entrench the faith in the Indian Juatice System where an accuse gets
fair and just trial .
@ Rama Seshadri - Your views are welcome but do you think that all those crores of people who are demanding
justice are daft. Are they writing in demanding speedy justice. it has been three months since the crime was
committed and still no verdict has been made in this case where crime is a proven fact. It's a pity that people
like you show empathy for the convict and have no compassion for the victim who died because of the brutality of
these culprits. you believe in trails that goes for decades and i believe in 'Justice delayed is Justice denied.'
Just looking at him makes me vomit. One criminal less on the roads of India.
Looking at the various reactions of people and media on his death, i
only try remembering Mrs Gladys Graham Staines saying during her
difficult moments "It is far from my mind to punish the persons who were
responsible for the death of my husband Graham and my two children. But
it is my desire and hope that they would repent and would be reformed"
it is surprising how there was no cameras in this so called high security prison cell. these days it is very cheap to install a digital camera and record many days of footage on hard discs. i dont know why india which is known for its IT talents is still very backward in its implementation. cameras in streets, workplaces, shopping malls etc. have been around for many years in other parts of the world. but india doesn't simply care for their multitudes
Why was he on suicide watch if, as his lawyer states, the accused had no indications of suicide?
its really shame to occurence of such incidents under the premises of
highly security tight tihar jail.
a sincere probe into such matter is highly needed.
The prisoner's death is not tragic, sir, it is merely unfortunate. Tragedy is what his victim suffered; the loss that the court suffered is simply notional. If it were any other person, who had not confessed to the crime and had been incarcerated and whose family were subjected to losses of every conceivable and inconceivable manner, then it certainly would have been tragic. Not in this case. Definitely not.
It is the sanctity of a law-abiding and decent person's life that is far more valuable than all the processes of all the laws of all of mankind.
Hope the others victims are well protected and Safe till the last hearing.
Good in a way ,he himself has rewarded by death.
It is a sad loss of life. He should not have committed this crime of rape at first hand. If he would not have done it, he need not be in jail and effect of it is depression, heckled by others and committing suicide. You remorse later and worry a lot. Why?. This should be an eye opener for all who commits any crime and particularly raping your fellow human that too women. Let this be an eye opener for all the rapist. Please do not commit rape and insult any women.
My experience reveals that only a genuinely pious person would take the extreme step of committing suicide. It's like making a confession in front of their God. The bottom line: It's high time prostitution got legalised in India. There are even girls aplenty in India who would dearly pay gigolos these days.
The death of Ram Singh is tragic - because it takes away the
fundamental process of law and justice. That said, I am appalled at the lynch mob mentality of many of THE HINDU's readers. They simply believe in instant justice, without due process like a trial, a conviction and punishment. Let them remember that we do not live in the 16th or 17th century, where a monarch would be judge, jury and executioner.
This is not about being "liberal" or conservative, but about a due process of law. The accused in the Delhi rape case have already been tried in the court of public opinion, and found guilty. The credit for that goes to our media with a mob mentality, who sensationalize everything with half truths, lies simply to improve their ratings. To them news like this has no human aspect - it is simply about being better than another channel, and this a matter of shame. Ram Singh has not been convicted yet - I wish he had his day in court. May his soul rest in peace.
If all accused "kill themselves", the government will have no need to impose death
penalty on them. Bullet dodged.
Enquiry is a must.
This could happen to a man who has to face trial 'who is under suicide
watch', in a 'high security' cell speaks volumes about the
obsolescence of security apparatus, in these days of technological
advancement, when sting operations could be easily conducted like a
child's play. In such an extremely sensitive case, one wonders why no
one thought of installing CCTVs to watch the movements, meetings and
talks of the criminals inside the cell and monitor them round the
clock with an eagle's eye? Would it amount to an intrusion in their
privacy? Could it be that had he been allowed to remain alone under
watchful eyes till he appears at the trial, some uncomfortable hidden
truths would have come out?
Likewise all other accused will also die "Under custody"and under
mysterious circumstances so there won't be any accountability on the
part of the Govt (the executive) and the Judiciary...and so the story
goes for the aam aadmi of India....
I am happy whichever way he died -- suicide or murder. He committed most
inhuman act and deserved death penalty. Please stop asking for inquiry
into this. Its good we have one less burden on national law enforcement
system
If the man has been murdered, the jail authority must unfold the truth
right away so that his family and public could be made aware about the
legal proceedings to follow.
Still, fact remains, the man is one among the group involved with gang
rape of an innocent young woman.
I think he has realized the cruel mistake done.
That he was not the sole occupant of the cell and that he was on a "suicide watch" makes this a serious lapse. This is certainly not meant to speak in defence of the particular man whose final action prompts this response, but the fact that such an eventuality can occur. The authorities must ensure that the four who remain, remain alive for the full course of justice to be applied to the case. If that should mean that they be held in isolation, then so be it. But they should stand in the dock when the final sentence is pronounced.
In a way I am happy that he is dead, as our overly humanitarian law would have punished him for something lesser. The "suicide" used by Hindu is interesting.
What would you expect,, The reputation of these men and their family has been
trashed in full public glare before the alleged crime is proven. There is wider fundamental
problem is Criminal Procedure Code,In these kind of cases Women gets automatic
anonymity whereas alledged accused's and his family's reputation is trashed in full public
glare, The CrPC is discriminatory against men in many ways. The law needs to be changed
so that men also get complete annonimity till the allegations are not proven and case is not
disposed off by a court of law. All the media must be automatically gagged by the law
from day one
Ram Singh is no more but many psychopaths are here giving their judgements. Let us not be the one like Talibans. Let the LAW of the Land take its course. GOD BLESS INDIA!
Way to Go in Heaven. Justice done by God to these perpetrators.
He has chosen the self retributive way. But the debates over the
retributive justice and reformative justice are yet to go ahead in
Indian jurisprudence as well as in social discourses.
Government and Judiciary failed to decide to his fate. He better himself
decided his destiny.
Hi Nandini,
The quotes already got your attention which they were meant for as explained in an article by the Editor sometime back that "Headlines Matter".
And for the suicide thing, I am amused to read that this guy was in "Suicide Watch" but still he succeeded, anyway No Issues with his death he deserved it and every single person who commits such crimes against humanity.
He made the capital punishment thing easy or else respected Aundhati Roy would have been writing again an article for the support of criminals.
Looks like Tihar jail officials understood the meaning of "suicide watch" literally - watch him commit suicide! How else does one explain this event? They watched the accused; he commits suicide; they report. Matter finished.
Roads in Delhi are not safe for women because of threat from men. Jails in Delhi are not safe to keep men in custody till their time to gallows. Sometime back, the accused sought the venue for trial to be away from Delhi which was denied by Judge. Food for thought- has not the judge erred in judgment? In such a scenario, how can we ever control rape in Delhi?
There we go. Our police and judiciary couldn't watch someone who was
inside a small room. How the hell are they going to take care of a
nation? Anyway Ram singh deserved it. No regrets here.
I would have preferred the situation where a fair trial would have
happened and the rules would have taken its normal course. Suicide is an utter expression of hopelessness and disbelief- a point where you feel that whatever is happening around is all farce- so I think although some of the people may call it 'poetic justice', in my opinion its only poetic in a dark way and no justice. Hopefully the utter hopelessness won't affect the outcome and the entire process will be completed- resulting in perpetrators of crime being punished and the victims' friends and family taking solace from the fact that justice was served.
How can this jail be called 'high security' if it allows inmates to use
rope/cloths that can be potentially used for a 'suicide'.
I am sure everyone in the world must be happy to hear this except the
'liberals'!
It was unbelievable what they did with that girl. God bless her and
those as well who have suffered the same trauma.
His family members claim he was tortured in prison. What were they expecting for someone who had committed a crime that shocked the entire world by its barbarity.
Very interesting. Our government have not time to punish them but got
time for enquiry 'We are enquiring into the matter'
Proof that solitary confinement for life is a far better punishment than hanging?
How convenient?
Interesting title to the article - Delhi gang-rape case accused commits ‘suicide’ - what's - 'suicide'?? How is it different from - suicide - with no quotes. The Hindu, implying there is more than just what meets the eye??
He deserved to die as his crime was proven beyond doubt. Let there be no regrets.
Finally he peacefully left the world!
One of the Happiest days of my life. May his soul never rest in peace.
an easy one for the monster !!
Our CJI said after the incidence that "A speedy trail can not be at the
cost of a fair trial"May be this was the natural combination of
both.Inquiry might reveal some facts but that could be because of poor
administration but the overall outcome is not a poor justice.
I wish he rots in hell.
Thanks ram Singh...You deserve more than this.....Our System is not going to hang you..every one who do such kind of shameful act deserve this...Indians are very happy ..
I think he did redemption of his malfeasance, but the trails of court
shouldn't effect by it, and other accused should get punishment for
their fierce act ...because this is necessary to curb the surging crime
against women.
Poetic justice. Wish the same for the rest.
Please Email the Editor