New Delhi:
Ram Singh, the man described by the Delhi Police as the mastermind of the fatal gang-rape of a medical student in Delhi, an attack that stunned India and stirred angry protests, was found dead in his cell at Tihar Jail this morning. Officials say he committed suicide, but are unable to explain vital details.
Here are 10 latest developments in the case:
Hours after Ram Singh's alleged suicide, the four other men accused of the student's murder and gang-rape were brought to a fast-track court, which is handling their trial. They asked to be moved from Tihar Jail. Shoot us, but don't send us back there, they said in court.
For the first time since their arrest in December, the men were seen in public without woollen scarves or hats covering their faces to protect their identity.
Ram Singh, who was 35, was discovered hanging in his cell by a constable at 5 am. Tihar Jail officials were not able to explain how his three cell-mates slept through the alleged suicide in the tiny room. (Read)
Jail authorities claim the 35-year-old committed suicide by using his shirt and threads from his sleeping mat to construct a rope, which he hung from a grille on the 10-foot-high ceiling by using a plastic bucket. But they are unable to explain how three cell-mates slept through the hanging in a tiny room.
Ram Singh's lawyer VK Anand said the case must be treated as murder. Ram Singh's family wants a CBI inquiry to determine how he died.(Read)
Of the six men accused of the student's gang-rape and murder, five - including Ram Singh and his brother Mukesh - are on trial at a fast-track court in South Delhi. The sixth is a juvenile and is being tried separately.
The five men at Tihar were at risk from other prisoners, their lawyers had argued in court. They said other inmates were aware of reports of the savagery of the way in which the student was attacked, and regularly threatened and tried to assault the suspects.
The family of the student who died has said that it wanted all six suspects hanged if they are convicted. Reacting to the news of Ram Singh's suicide, her brother said, "He knew he was going to die anyway because we had and still have such a strong case against him. I'm not very thrilled with the news that he killed himself because I wanted him to be hanged publicly. Him dying on his own terms seems unfair." (Read)
On December 16 last year, a 23-year-old physiotherapy trainee was gang-raped on a Delhi bus. Prosecutors have alleged that it was Ram Singh's idea to take the school bus he drove by day out for "a joyride" with his friends at night. The men first robbed a male passenger. Ram Singh's brother Mukesh was allegedly driving when the gang saw Amanat (NOT her real name) and her male friend waiting for a bus in South Delhi.
After the couple boarded the bus, they were hit with an iron rod and then Amanat was raped before the couple was thrown onto the road. She died two weeks later of severe injuries from her brutal attack.
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