Ram Singh was among the five men and a juvenile awaiting trial for the brutal attack on the 23-year-old trainee physiotherapist
The parents of Ram Singh, the man accused of the gang rape and murder of a woman on a New Delhi bus, who was today found hanged in his prison cell, say their son was killed.
Police reported the 34-year-old committed suicide after he was found hanged with his own clothes in Tihar jail.
But his family dispute the claim, saying Singh was not suicidal and his injured hand would prevent him from killing himself.
Singh was among the five men and a juvenile awaiting trial for the brutal attack on the 23-year-old trainee physiotherapist in the Indian capital in December last year.
The assault triggered nationwide protests and an intense debate about rampant crime against women in India.
After Singh was found dead India's deputy home minister, RPN Singh, said an inquiry had been ordered into the suicide, according to the Press Trust of India.
Singh's family and lawyer alleged foul play over his death.
His lawyer VK Anand said: 'There were no circumstances which could have led to Ram Singh committing suicide. There was no mental stress. He was very happy.'
Lawyers for the defendants had previously accused police of beating confessions out of the men.
Singh's father, Mangelal Singh, said his son had been raped in prison by other inmates and had been repeatedly threatened by inmates and guards.
Nevertheless, he said he visited his son four days ago and he appeared fine and gave no hint of the despair that could drive him to take his own life.
Ram Sing's parents, Ram Bai (left) and Mangelal Singh (right) do not believe their son took his own life in prison
Ram Bai wept at her home as she spoke of the death of her son Ram Singh. The family suspect 'foul play' by the authorities
Inconsolable: Ram Singh's parents said he appeared fine and gave no hint of despair when his father visited four days ago
Singh also had a badly injured hand and would have been unable to orchestrate a suicide, his father said, speaking from outside his small home in a New Delhi slum.
'Somebody has killed him,' he said, insisting he would push for a top-level investigation into the death.
Mangelal Singh said he feared for the safety of another son who is also on trial in the rape case.
The defendants were being housed in separate buildings on the jail grounds and were all under suicide watch, a jail official said.
Indian jails have a reputation for overcrowding, poor management and brutal treatment of inmates.
The brother of the 23-year-old trainee physiotherapist who was brutally attacked 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. But, oh well, one is down. Hopefully the rest will wait for their death sentence.'
The trial of the five adult men began in a special fast-track court last month while the juvenile's trial began last week.
Singh's brother Mukesh Singh, gym assistant Vinay Sharma, bus cleaner Akshay Kumar Singh and fruit vendor Pawan Kumar are the other men on trial.
Distraught: The brother, mother and father (left to right) of Ram Singh claim he was murdered and had not committed suicide
Suspect: An ambulance comes out of Tihar Jail where Singh was being held
Police allege the six attacked the woman and her male companion on the bus as the couple returned home after watching Life Of Pi on December 16.
The woman was repeatedly raped and tortured with a metal bar. The couple were also severely beaten before being thrown onto a road.
The woman died of internal injuries in a Singapore hospital two weeks later.
Singh was a bus driver, despite an accident in 2009 that fractured his right arm so badly that doctors had to insert a rod to support it.
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