Third ‘suicide’ in Tihar in 15 months,security stepped up

“There is a major security lapse. Preliminary inquiry suggests he committed suicide. However,we will wait for the inquiry to be completed,” he said.

Asked about allegations that Singh was murdered,he said a magisterial inquiry was ordered into the incident to ascertain the cause of death.

He also said the Ministry of Home Affairs will write to Delhi government to step up the security of the other four accused in gangrape case,who are who are lodged in Tihar jail.

Singh was due to appear in the fast-track court on Monday morning for the gangrape trial.

Tihar jail authorities had recently procured 250 CCTV cameras and were planning to install them inside the cells.

This is the third “suicide” inside Tihar in the past 15 months.

Two suicides were reported from the high-security prison last year.

According to a report released in the Delhi Journal of Psychiatry in 2012 by prison psychiatrists,there were 20 suicides in Tihar in the past decade — between 2001 and April 2012.

Most of the deceased were undertrials like Ram Singh.

In January last year,a prisoner was found dead in mysterious circumstances in Tihar Jail No. 8.

While jail authorities claimed he fell from the stairs,the post-mortem examination revealed that he had suffered internal blows,suggesting foul play.

In another incident last year,a prisoner who died mysteriously was later suspected of having died after being forced to consume a poisonous substance.