14 DAY TRIAL // The main suspect in the Delhi rape case that involved six suspects in December 2012 has committed suicide in jail, reports say.
However, Ram Singh's family, lawyer and friends are suspecting foul play and call on the federal officers at the Central Bureau of Investigation to investigate.
They stated that this was a case of murder with criminal conspiracy, as the suspect had already confessed to the crime and was not going to fight the sentence in his case.
"There were no circumstances which could have led to Ram Singh committing suicide. There was no mental stress. He was very happy," attorney VK Anand recalls for Al Jazeera.
At 5.30 a.m. on Monday, March 11, Singh was found in his cell, after allegedly hanging himself using his own clothes. He was detained in the high security Tihar jail in New Delhi, the Guardian reports.
"There is a major security lapse...Preliminary inquiry suggests he committed suicide. However, we will wait for the enquiry to be completed," Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said in a press conference today.
Indian Express writes that the incident has prompted a review of security measures in Tihar Jail. He responds to questions about the inmate possibly being killed by describing that the police are not investigating the case as a murder.
So far, police have not contacted the man's family to question them about the crime. The prisoner's father, Mangelal Singh, has described his son being raped and beaten in jail, with guards doing nothing to stop the mistreatment.
He adds that 34-year-old Singh's hand has been severely injured recently, which would stop him from being able to hang himself.
"Somebody has killed him," Mangelal Singh reiterates.
As we mentioned before, the brutal rape took place on a bus and resulted in a 23-year-old student dying after being beaten, having a rod inserted in her body and being dumped by the side of the road.