Tihar suicide: Delhi court seeks report from jail officials

, March 11: A Delhi

hearing the December 16 gangrape case Monday asked Tihar Jail officials to submit an inquiry

on the alleged

of prime accused Ram Singh in his cell. The other four accused also alleged harassment in prison.

Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna sought the report of the inquiry into the death of accused by Tuesday, advocate V K Anand appearing for Ram Singh told reporters outside the courtroom.

According to police, Ram Singh, 35, allegedly committed suicide Monday by hanging himself by the grill of a window in his jail cell, using a cloth.

The court asked jail officials to review the security of the other four accused and submit a report daily.

The other four accused, Ram Singh's brother Mukesh, fruit seller Pawan Gupta, gym instructor Vinay Sharma, and bus cleaner Akshay Thakur were presented before the court.

The accused alleged that for the last three days they were being tortured and harassed, physically and mentally, by jail officials.

Ram Singh was the driver of the bus in which the 23-year-old woman was raped by six males, including him.

The six males, including a minor, also thrashed the woman's friend and later threw them out of the moving bus in the cold December night out of the street - bleeding and without clothes.

The young student died of massive internal injuries in a Singapore hospital two weeks later.

Ram Singh, who had confessed to the crime, had been charged in 13 cases in connection with the Dec 16 incident, and had been facing day-to-day trial in the fast-track court. He was to be taken to the court Monday too.

The sixth accused is a juvenile, lodged separately, and being tried by the Juvenile Justice Board.

IANS