Gangrape Suspect could not have killed himself!

The alleged ringleader of the Delhi bus gang rape could not have hanged himself in prison because he had a badly injured hand, his father claimed today.

Ram Singh, 34, was found dead in his cell in New Delhi’s Tihar jail where he was being held over the rape and murder of a 23-year-old student last December which sparked outrage across the country.Police said Singh had committed  suicide but his family and lawyer insisted he had been killed.His father Mangelal Singh said his son had been raped in prison by other inmates and had been repeatedly threatened by inmates and guards.
Nevertheless, he said he visited his son four days ago and he appeared fine and gave no hint of the despair that could drive him to take his own life.His father added that his son had a badly injured hand and would have been unable to commit suicide by hanging himself. An official inquiry has been launched. Singh was said to be the driver of the bus on which the student was raped by six men.

He was under suicide watch at Tihar jail, police officials were quoted as saying in some reports. But jail spokesman Sunil Gupta denied this was the case and said three people were sharing his cell. He said Singh appeared to have hanged himself with an improvised rope made from a blanket at about 5am local time today.Singh and four other defendants were facing the death penalty if convicted of the attack. A sixth accused is being tried separately because he is a juvenile. They all deny the charges.

Singh’s lawyer, VK Anand, said: “There were no circumstances which could have led to Ram Singh committing suicide. There was no mental stress. He was very happy.” Lawyers for the defendants had previously accused police of beating confessions out of the men. Mangelal Singh said he feared for the safety of another son, Mukesh Singh, who is also on trial in the case. The other men on trial are Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur.The case was due to resume today. They face 13 charges, including murder, gang-rape, kidnapping and destruction of evidence. The victim was with a male friend when she was raped and attacked with an iron bar and thrown from the bus. She died days later from internal injuries.Singh’s death is a huge embarrassment for the authorities under pressure over the case which prompted protests and demands for tougher penalties for sex offenders, as well as greater protection for women. The BBC said the Indian authorities say Tihar is one of their most modern prisons.