Ram Singh's 'suicide': Need for better security arrangements inside Tihar Jail

12 March, 2013

The alleged suicide of prime accused in Delhi gang rape case Ram Singh in his high security cell in Delhi's Tihar Jail on Monday morning by hanging has raised number of questions on jail authorities. The chairperson of National Commission of Women, Mamta Sharma has called it a 'major security lapse'.

Singh, 35, was the driver of the bus in which a 23-year-old physiotherapist student and her friend were brutally assaulted by him and five other accused on December 16 last year, and the girl had, unfortunately, girl died in a Singapore hospital on December 29.

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Do you believe Ram Singh's death was a case of suicide?

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Singh and the four other accused in the case were being tried by a fast-track court in Delhi. Besides them, a sixth accused, who has been declared a juvenile, is facing proceedings before the Juvenile Justice Board.

The exact cause and circumstances of Singh’s death are a matter of investigation, but it was certain that he would have been given death penalty in view of the available evidence and witnesses. Since he has been found dead during the investigation, many people believe that he has been murdered. This makes us say that he has been denied the opportunity to get justice.

And our system cannot let a person be punished without a fair trial. In such cases, the criminals try to be in a suicidal situation. The suicides in Tihar Jail are a common thing as during the last few years 18 suicides have been reported from the jail, and Singh has earlier also tried to commit suicide in the jail premises by hanging himself but he was saved by Pawan, one of his associates in the gang-rape which he disclosed during his parole time of two hours on the death of his 15-year-old sister due to serious illness.

Committing suicide is a cowardly act but Singh must have been given the punishment under the Indian Penal Code for the brutal crime committed by him which shocked the whole of the world.

The suicide of Singh despite the fact that all the accused in Delhi gang-rape, including him, were on suicide watch is a major security lapse. There were no arrangements for any treatment or counseling and there was no CCTV camera even. Even the Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has admitted that Singh’s alleged suicide was a "major lapse".

But proper security arrangements could only be made possible if there are a less number of prisoners, which can be achieved if we have better judicial system. In the Indian jails, the number of prisoners is two or three times more than the actual capacity.