NEW DELHI: Vinay Sharma, one of the six convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape case, who is facing a death sentence, attempted suicide at the Tihar Jail complex on Wednesday night.
He allegedly consumed a heavy dose of anti-depressants before attempting to hang himself from an iron grill using a towel at his cell around 9.30 pm, sources said. Sharma has been suffering from depression for the past few months.
A constable who was on his rounds spotted Sharma taking extreme step and immediately raised alarm. He stopped Sharma just in time and untied the towel around his neck.
The convict was rushed to the dispensary, where he was administered medicines and later taken to Deen Dayal Upadhyay hospital for medical examination. His condition was stated to be stable. A case of attempt to suicide may be registered against him, a police officer said.
Last year, Sharma had told a Delhi court that he was thrashed by his fellow jail inmates and asked for security. His lawyer said Sharma faced a risk to his life as some convicts had “openly” threatened to kill him.
In March 2013, Ram Singh, another accused in the gang-rape case, was found hanging in his cell at Tihar Jail.
Jail authorities had claimed that he committed suicide. However, his family members alleged that he was murdered and hanged in his cell. Six men — one of them a juvenile — were convicted in the gruesome murder of a paramedic student in a moving bus on December 16, 2012.
Four of the convicts -- Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma, Mukesh Singh and Pawan Gupta -- were sentenced to death. Ram Singh, the fifth accused, 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 reformation home. He was released in December last year.
The incident created a furore across the country with massive protests erupting at several locations demanding stricter laws against rape.
The sensational case in which four were handed a death sentence raised questions on how safe the country was for women and sought answers on the society's apparent bias against the fairer sex.