Nirbhaya Rape Convict Vinay Sharma Tried To Hang Himself With A Towel

New Delhi: Vinay Sharma, one of the four men sentenced to death for the gang-rape, torture and killing of a young medical student in 2012 in what came to be known as the Nirbhaya case, allegedly tried to hang himself with a towel at the high security Tihar jail in Delhi on Wednesday.

Sharma, a former gym instructor, allegedly took excessive painkillers. He was spotted by guards while he was trying to hang himself in his cell. Sources say he is on depression medication.

Last year, he had demanded more security in jail alleging that he had been beaten up by other inmates. Tihar officials denied it, saying he is in solitary confinement and constantly monitored by CCTVs.

Another convict Ram Singh, the driver of the bus in which the woman was assaulted, was found hanging in the same complex in March 2013.

Six men were found guilty of raping and torturing the 23-year-old physiotherapist, who was on her way home after watching a movie on a winter evening. She died in hospital 13 days later. As street protests raged through a shocked nation, the government introduced major changes to laws on crimes against women.

Reacting to the alleged suicide attempt, the woman's father told news agency IANS: "He has to die in future, if he dies today, it would be a tribute to our daughter. Such people are dangerous for society and country."

Her mother said: "The sin of these people will not allow them to live. My daughter survived without water for 13 days. She faced extreme pain and brutality."

Vinay Sharma and the other convicts, Mukesh Singh, Akshay Thakur and Pawan Gupta, have appealed against their death sentence in the Supreme Court.

The youngest of the rapists, who was a few months short of 18 when he was arrested, was released last year after three years in probation, amid protests by hundreds including the woman's parents.