Probe Ordered in Death of India Rape Suspect - Wall Street Journal (India)

By PREETIKA RANA And VIBHUTI AGARWAL NEW DELHI—An Indian court has ordered an investigation at Tihar Jail, the country's biggest prison, after one of the five men accused in the December gang rape of a young woman in New Delhi was found dead in his cell early Monday. Police and prison authorities said Ram Singh, who was due to return to court in south Delhi Monday, committed suicide by hanging himself. But the 33-year-old's father, as well as a lawyer for two other men in the case, claims he was murdered. The lawyer, A.P. Singh, said it was no longer safe for his clients to stay at Tihar Jail and that he is planning an appeal for them to be moved elsewhere. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Police stand guard as an ambulance leaves Tihar Jail on Monday where one of the five men accused in the gang rape of a 23-year-old Indian woman hanged himself. Delhi Outrage Over Gang Rape Getty Images A large number of protesters gathered outside Rashtrapati Bhawan, the President's Palace, in New Delhi on Dec. 22. Related Video Three of the five men accused of raping and killing an Indian student will plead not guilty. The WSJ's Deborah Kan speaks to attorney Karan Thukral about how India's legal system is dealing with a trial that is seizing the country. "This is a murder, not suicide. How is it possible for a prisoner to hang himself inside a jail cell? Is Tihar's security so weak?" said Mr. Singh. "My clients are terrified, scared, they fear for their safety," he added. Sunil Gupta, a spokesman for the jail, which has developed a reputation as a model for reform and prisoner rehabilitation, said Mr. Singh used his clothes to hang himself. The spokesman added that Mr. Singh's three cellmates were asleep when he killed himself. They were "clueless about his intention to commit suicide," he said. At a press conference Monday afternoon, India's Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde described the death as suicide and said a magisterial inquiry had been ordered following this "major security lapse." Mr. Gupta, the Tihar Jail spokesman, said there are guards outside every ward in the prison, including Mr. Singh's, but it wasn't possible to have guards outside every single cell. The wards at the jail, which houses roughly 12,500 inmates, typically have 20 cells and only one guard. Mr. Singh's ward had 25 cells and one guard, said Mr. Gupta. He added that his body was discovered at 5:45 a.m. by an official from the Tamil Nadu police who was conducting a routine check at the prison. The official alerted the guard. Mr. Gupta said around 10 social welfare officers at the jail provide counseling to inmates, though he didn't confirm whether Mr. Singh was seeing anyone for counseling. Mr. Singh was one of five men accused of raping a 23-year-old woman after luring her and a male companion onto a bus in south Delhi on Dec. 16. The assault, which was so brutal that she later died of her injuries, received worldwide attention and has led to proposals for new laws aimed at better protecting women in India. A senior government official told The Wall Street Journal that India's cabinet will Tuesday consider a modified bill on sexual assault laws to replace an ordinance, or interim bill, that was passed in February. Mr. Singh, like the four other men, including his brother Mukesh, faced charges including kidnapping, rape and murder. If they are found guilty, the remaining four could face the death penalty. A sixth suspect is being tried in a juvenile court. The four men returned to a special fast-track court in south Delhi Monday afternoon, but proceedings lasted less than an hour before court was adjourned until Tuesday. Vivek Sharma, the lawyer for one of the accused, 19-year-old fruit seller Pawan Gupta, said the judge asked Tihar Jail authorities to submit a daily report on the safety of the four men. Mr. Singh, the lawyer for two of the accused men, said one of his clients, Akshay Thakur, asked him in court to keep him out of Tihar Jail. "Shoot me but don't let me stay in Tihar," Mr. Thakur said, according to Mr. Singh. V.K. Anand, the lawyer for the Singh brothers, added that Mukesh, the surviving brother, claims to have been subjected to third degree torture in jail. "Hang me, but also punish those who treat us brutally," Mr. Singh said in court Monday, according to Mr. Anand. He added that his client was "very much devastated at his brother's death." Mr. Gupta, the Tihar Jail spokesman, said the prisoners in the rape case have been treated properly and confirmed that authorities believe Mr. Singh committed suicide. He added that the four men were being closely watched after Mr. Singh's death, but he couldn't confirm if additional guards had been deployed outside their ward. Tihar Jail embraced a series of reforms in the 1990s and today boasts childcare facilities, meditation and yoga programs, music classes and other skill-building training projects. The reforms were started by former policewoman and social activist Kiran Bedi, who was then the prison's director general. She said Monday that the prison should invest in more cameras and improve assistance for inmates, perhaps through tie-ups with university psychology departments. A 2012 report by Tihar Jail psychiatrists Anju Gupta and N.K. Girdhar said there had been 20 suicides at Tihar Jail between 2001 and April 2012. Like Mr. Singh, all were pre-trial verdict inmates, said the report. It added that the figure is likely to be higher than 20, as prisoners who are taken to hospital after a suicide attempt and die there are often not recorded as suicide victims. Delhi's assistant commissioner of police Rajinder Singh, who is part of a team investigating the gang rape, said Mr. Singh's body is undergoing a post mortem at a Delhi hospital. "Only after the inquiry is done by special district magistrate, we can say what exactly happened," he said. —Margherita Stancati, Joanna Sugden and Rajesh Roy contributed to this article. via Top Stories - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNF2xBW4bjV3zJCSe0Z4OQOEIdR5Ig&url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323826704578354110665537902.html

Put the internet to work for you. via Personal Recipe 2953939