Why it was easy for Ram Singh to commit suicide in Tihar

New Delhi, March 14: Tihar Jail is not new to suicide committed by pre-trial verdict inmates. Gang-rape accused Ram Singh is just one of them. Even Jail authorities and former inmates of Tihar Jail said that suicide of Ram Singh did not surprise them.

Thus theory of Ram Singh being murdered loses the ground.

According to a report by Tihar Jail psychiatrists in the Delhi Journal of Psychiatry, a total of 20 suicides occurred in Tihar Jail between 2001 and April 2012. All the suicide victims were pre-trial verdict inmates.

The prime accused in December 16 Delhi gang-rape and murder case Ram Singh committed suicide on Monday. But, the 35-year-old rape accused's family members and lawyers are openly alleging murder.

However, post-mortem report of Ram Singh says he died due to hanging.

According to Tihar Jail authorities it is not easy to keep 24-hours watch on large numbers of inmates. "Committing suicide is very easy there. It's not a big deal at all," the former inmate told Reuters.

Tihar Jail spokesperson Sunil Gupta admitted that it was impossible to monitor the prisoners all the time.

"It is easy and it's not unusual for suicides to happen in jail," Gupta said.

Tihar Jail is considered as a model prison. In Tihar , inmates have several facilities, including counselling, yoga classes and meditation rooms.

But, the Jail is overcrowded.

In India's largest prison more than 12,000 prisoners stay. The Jail is actually meant for 6,250 inmates.

"We cannot put one guard with one prisoner, we can't even put one guard with ten prisoners," said Gupta, the prison spokesman.

"We have 12,500 prisoners here. If an inmate wants to go to the bathroom, he can easily commit suicide there. Even though we are watching, these cases can take place because security cannot solve everything."

Ram Singh was not alone in his cell. He was sharing it with three other inmates. Moreover, the version provided by the jail officials as how Ram Singh committed suicide does not look convincing.

Moreover, Singh had injured both his arms during an accident in 2009. A metal rod was inserted in his right arm, which makes it hard for him to even bend it or clench his fist. His body is also said to have several injury marks.

"Under such circumstances, how could Singh commit suicide?" asked an individual, questioning the suicide theory of Ram Singh provided by Tihar Jail authorities.

Ram Singh committed suicide early Monday morning, inside his cell at Tihar Jail, just few hours before he was supposed to be presented at a fast track court where the trial of the case is on.

"There was no reason for him to commit suicide. There is some foul play," Singh's attorney V.K. Anand said.

"Ram Singh did not kill himself. He was murdered," Singh's father, Mangi Lai, told.

Ram Singh, along with five other men brutally gang-raped and assaulted a 23-year-old paramedical student before throwing her out of a moving bus in the national capital on December 16, 2012. Later the victim died at a Singapore hospital on December 29, 2012.

OneIndia News