Delhi gang-rape 'ringleader' dies in cell: was it suicide or murder?
Foul play suspected in 'suicide' of Ram Singh who faced death penalty for medical student's rape and murder
RAM SINGH, the bus driver accused of leading the gang-rape and murder of a young medical student in Delhi last December, has been found dead in his cell this morning at the high-security Tihar jail. First reports suggested he had hanged himself using his own clothing and a prison blanket. As The Guardian reported, there was instant condemnation of prison authorities for allowing him the chance to kill himself.
But there are new reports saying Singh was not alone in his cell and that others may have intervened in his death. "Singh was not alone in the cell," a source told the Times of India. "Other inmates were present and a guard was also posted". The paper says it is "unlikely" that Singh would have been able to kill himself "without any intervention". Singh's lawyer has also claimed foul play, saying his client was killed. Another member of the 34-year-old's defence team said Singh had been tortured in prison, while his family insists that a serious arm injury meant he would have been unable to hang himself on his own. Singh was one of five adults accused of the brutal gang-rape. The young woman, who had taken the bus with a male friend after visiting the cinema, was repeatedly raped during the hour-long attack and died later from her injuries.
The trial of the five men began last month in a special fast-track court and a verdict was expected within weeks. Singh, the ringleader, faced the death penalty. It is not clear what impact his death will have on the trial of the other four. The family of the 23-year-old rape victim said they were "surprised but not sad" at the news of Singh’s death. "I wanted him to be hanged... publicly. Him dying on his own terms seems unfair," her brother told Reuters.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Horror stories of women having to carry nonviable fetuses'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Haiti interim council, prime minister sworn in
Speed Read Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigns amid surging gang violence
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 26, 2024
Cartoons Friday's cartoons - teleprompter troubles, presidential immunity, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Do youth curfews work?
Today's big question Banning unaccompanied children from towns and cities is popular with some voters but is contentious politically
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Sydney mall attacker may have targeted women
Speed Read Police commissioner says gender of victims is 'area of interest' to investigators
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published
-
Why are kidnappings in Nigeria on the rise again?
Today's Big Question Hundreds of children and displaced people are missing as kidnap-for-ransom 'bandits' return
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published
-
Deaths of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies hang over Sydney's Mardi Gras
The Explainer Police officer, the former partner of TV presenter victim, charged with two counts of murder after turning himself in
By Austin Chen, The Week UK Published
-
How the idyllic Galapagos Islands became staging post in world drug trade
Under the radar Ecuador's crackdown on gang violence forces drug traffickers into Pacific routes to meet cocaine demand
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Armed gangs, prison breaks and on-air hostages: how Ecuador was plunged into crisis
The Explainer Gangs launch deadly revenge after president declares state of emergency following escape of feared drug boss from prison
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Ecuador tips toward chaos amid prison breaks, armed TV takeover
Speed Read New President Daniel Noboa authorized the military to 'neutralize' powerful drug-linked gangs after they unleashed violence and terror across Ecuador
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Prague shooting: student kills 14 people at university
Speed reads Police believe suspect, who killed himself, may have shot his father before carrying out mass murder
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published