Suspect in Indian Gang Rape commits sucide in Jail

The alleged ringleader of a brutal gang rape that rocked India and highlighted the dangers Indian women face in public spaces has been found hanging in his high-security jail cell in New Delhi.

Ram Singh, a 33-year-old bus driver, was facing the death penalty for his role in the brutal gang-rape of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student on a bus she had boarded to go home after watching a movie at an upmarket shopping mall.

Authorities said that Mr Singh was lodged in a cell with several other prisoners, and had a guard outside the cell. Legal experts said the death raised questions about whether he was under adequate surveillance to prevent a potential suicide, or any other attack on him.

Mr Singh's family, and his defence lawyer, VK Anand, said they suspected foul play, with the family complaining he had been mistreated in jail.  “I doubt it is a suicide,” the attorney told Indian TV. “He is not such a person who can commit suicide.”

The death of Mr Singh comes in the midst of the criminal trial in the special fast-track court, which has been holding daily hearings that have been closed to the public and the media. The court has heard evidence from the young woman's companion, who was with her on the bus, as well as the detailed testimony she gave authorities in the days before she died.

Source: FT