Delhi gangrape accused commits suicide: Case under jeopardy?

New Delhi, March 11: Ram Singh, the main accused in the brutal Delhi gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old paramedical student committed

on Monday, March 11.

Ram Singh said to have hanged himself in jail no. 3 of Tihar Jail, where he was lodged at 5 am on Monday. Now, the dramatic manner in which the accused has committed suicide inside the high-security Tihar Jail raises several questions. The primary among them is that is the case under jeopardy now?

Media reports say that accused Ram Singh was not kept in solitary confinement but was sharing his cell with other inmates. Then, how did he commit suicide in front of other inmates?

Jail sources have confirmed that the main accused have committed suicide.

"Ram Singh has committed suicide," said a senior police official of Tihar Jail, confirming the news.

Moreover, Ram Singh was under "suicide watch".

"Rape accused have a major tendency to commit suicide as they are isolated by other inmates in jails. The jail's inquiry will reveal exactly what kind of 'watch' was Ram Singh kept under," said former IPS officer Kiran Bedi.

Women's rights groups have raised questions on the suicide.

"I think he was ashamed of the society. But how did he commit suicide in the jail? There is so much of frisking in the jail." said National Commission for Women (NCW) Chairperson Mamta Sharma.

Many have expressed shock on the issue.

"This is absolutely shocking. The whole nation is watching and waiting for justice to happen. This man hangs himself, the jail authorities have been callous," said human rights activist Ranjana Kumari.

In fact, the trial of the case is on at a fast track court in New Delhi. The deceased Ram Singh and four other accused were charged with murder, gang-rape, destruction of evidence, criminal conspiracy, dacoity, unnatural sex and common intent in the case.

As the sixth accused has been declared as a juvenile, his case will be tried by a juvenile court.

On Decemeber 16, 2012, a group of six men brutally gang-raped and assaulted the 23-year-old women inside a moving bus.

Later the victim died in a Singapore hospital on Decemnber 29. In fact, Ram Singh was the driver of the bus, where the victim and her friend were seriously injured and assaulted, before they were thrown out of the moving bus to die on the roads of national capital.

The case woke up the entire nation. People protested on the streets and demanded death penalty for rapists. The government also formed Justice JS Verma committee to come up with strict laws to deal with sexual crimes committed against women.

But, anti-rape law is yet to be passed by the Parliament, as differences have cropped up among the cabinet members on various issues regarding the law.

OneIndia News