Convict attempts suicide in Tihar

Vinay Sharma, one of the six men convicted in the 2012 Delhi gangrape case, allegedly attempted suicide in his Tihar Jail cell late on Wednesday night.

Sharma allegedly consumed a heavy dose of anti-depressants before trying to hang himself from an iron grill using a towel in his Jail Number 8 cell around 9.30 pm, jail sources said. Sharma, who is suffering from depression for the past some months, is already on medication, they said.

A Tamil Nadu special police jawan, who was on duty near the cell, saw Sharma attempting to commit suicide and immediately raised an alarm. The jawan stopped Sharma and untied the towel that he had tied around his neck.

In the meantime, some more security personnel arrived at the cell and rushed Sharma to a dispensary within the jail complex. Doctors at the dispensary administered medicines and Sharma was later taken to the nearby Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for further treatment and necessary medical tests. His condition is stable and hospital sources said Sharma would be discharged by evening.

Senior Tihar jail authorities were informed about the incident and a probe has been ordered into the incident, the sources said. A case of attempt to suicide may be registered against Sharma, according to a police officer.

Last year, Sharma had told a Delhi court that he was thrashed by his fellow jail inmates and had asked for security as he faced threat to life. His lawyer told the court that his client was thrashed by five or six inmates in his jail cell on August 15 and 16. The lawyer said Sharma feared risk to his life as some other convicts had been continuously threatening him.

In March 2013, Ram Singh, another accused in the barbaric gangrape case, was found hanging in his Tihar Jail cell. The jail authorities had claimed at the time that he had committed suicide. However, his family members had alleged that Ram Singh was murdered and hanged in his cell.

Six men — one of them a juvenile at the time — were convicted for the rape and gruesome murder of a paramedic in a moving bus on December 16, 2012. The torture and subsequent death of the 23-year-old, who along with her male friend had been on way home after watching a film, shook the nation to its core. The crime prompted thousands to come out in protests held across the country.

Four convicts Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma, Mukesh Singh and Pawan Gupta were sentenced to death in the case.

Ram Singh was the fifth accused but he committed suicide before the quantum of punishment was announced by the court. The juvenile accused in the case was convicted and sentenced to a maximum of three years in a reform home.