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After the couple boarded the bus, they were hit with an iron rod and then Amanat was raped before the couple was thrown onto the road. She died two weeks later of severe injuries from her brutal attack.
Hours after Ram Singh's alleged suicide, the four other men accused of the student's murder and gang-rape were brought to a fast-track court, which is handling their trial. They asked to be moved from Tihar Jail. Shoot us, but don't send us back there, they said in court.
For the first time since their arrest in December, the men were seen in public without woollen scarves or hats covering their faces to protect their identity.
Ram Singh, who was 35, was discovered hanging in his cell by a constable at 5 am. Tihar Jail officials were not able to explain how his three cell-mates slept through the alleged suicide in the tiny room. (Read)
Tihar Jail officials say he used his shirt and parts of a sleeping map to construct a sort of rope. They could not explain how he was able to suspend the rope from a ceiling that was at least 10 feet high, given that there was nothing for him to stand on in the cell.
Ram Singh's lawyer VK Anand said the case must be treated as murder. Ram Singh's family wants a CBI inquiry to determine how he died.(Read)
Of the six men accused of the student's gang-rape and murder, five - including Ram Singh and his brother Mukesh - are on trial at a fast-track court in South Delhi. The sixth is a juvenile and is being tried separately.
The five men at Tihar were at risk from other prisoners, their lawyers had argued in court. They said other inmates were aware of reports of the savagery of the way in which the student was attacked, and regularly threatened and tried to assault the suspects.
The family of the student who died has said that it wanted all six suspects hanged if they are convicted. Reacting to the news of Ram Singh's suicide, her brother said, "He knew he was going to die anyway because we had and still have such a strong case against him. I'm not very thrilled with the news that he killed himself because I wanted him to be hanged publicly. Him dying on his own terms seems unfair." (Read)
On December 16 last year, a 23-year-old physiotherapy trainee was gang-raped on a Delhi bus. Prosecutors have alleged that it was Ram Singh's idea to take the school bus he drove by day out for "a joyride" with his friends at night. The men first robbed a male passenger. Ram Singh's brother Mukesh was allegedly driving when the gang saw Amanat (NOT her real name) and her male friend waiting for a bus in South Delhi.
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