Delhi woke up to the news of the alleged suicide of Ram Singh, one of the accused in the gangrape in the city December last year.

Prison officials claimed he used his own clothes to hang himself around 5.00 am in Tihar jail. "Singh was not alone in the cell. Other inmates were present and a guard was also posted. But nobody came to know about it. Around 5am, he was found hanging," a senior jail official told The Times of India.

Singh’s family, however, said, he was murdered. “My son has no reason to commit suicide,” Singh’s father told a television news channel.

Also read: Will Ram Singh death move focus off gangrape case?
Delhi gangrape accused ‘kills self’ in jail, DCW chief hangs logic

Although a judicial probe has been ordered, the incident raises serious questions about the safety of the prisoners in Asia’s largest jail, which is no stranger to unnatural deaths of prisoners.

“It is highly unlikely for a prisoner, who shared a cell with other prisoners, and who was under watch, to commit suicide this way,” a police official told Governance Now. Singh, along with other accused were under 'suicide watch' as they had stopped talking and interacting among themselves.

“There were also reports of other inmates heckling the five accused, some of who were beaten up as well. The safety of the accused was certainly a cause of concern. But true to their callous attitude, the prison officials did not do enough,” the officer added. 

“If he was under ‘suicide watch’, why were the CCTV cameras not working? Tihar officials have lot of explain to do here,” said another police officer familiar with the Tihar jail.

Singh's lawyer VK Anand told TV channels his client was satisfied with how his trial in the gang rape case was proceeding and had no reason to kill himself. "I doubt if this is a case of suicide," Anand said.

While it’s too early to say what led to Singh’s death, the fateful incident will certainly affect the natural course of justice that would have been done following the trial of the case in the fast track court.