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| The case against Ram Singh | The case against Ram Singh |
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| Ram Singh, 34 years old, was arrested two days after the gang rape and murder for which he was on trial. Police found him cleaning the bus he drove for a living – though did not own – and in which the attack is alleged to have taken place. It was parked 100 metres or so away from the small one-roomed, one storey brick home Singh shared with his brother, who remains on trial, in the slum neighbourhood of Ravi Das colony, an enclave of poverty in otherwise relatively wealthy south Delhi. | Ram Singh, 34 years old, was arrested two days after the gang rape and murder for which he was on trial. Police found him cleaning the bus he drove for a living – though did not own – and in which the attack is alleged to have taken place. It was parked 100 metres or so away from the small one-roomed, one storey brick home Singh shared with his brother, who remains on trial, in the slum neighbourhood of Ravi Das colony, an enclave of poverty in otherwise relatively wealthy south Delhi. |
| The Singh brothers – the younger, Mukesh, is 26 – had been living in Ravi Das Colony for most of their lives. The two had come to Delhi with their parents 15 years previously, escaping a life of grinding agricultural poverty and harsh physical labour in a remote eastern part of the state of Rajasthan, five hours by train from the capital. They had grown up on a small homestead, attending a local school with few facilities and an often absent teacher, playing in the fields and dried river beds. | The Singh brothers – the younger, Mukesh, is 26 – had been living in Ravi Das Colony for most of their lives. The two had come to Delhi with their parents 15 years previously, escaping a life of grinding agricultural poverty and harsh physical labour in a remote eastern part of the state of Rajasthan, five hours by train from the capital. They had grown up on a small homestead, attending a local school with few facilities and an often absent teacher, playing in the fields and dried river beds. |
| In Delhi the pair lived alone. Their father, suffering "mental problems", according to a neighbour, had long returned to their village. Ram had married but his wife – a woman who had three children when she effectively eloped with him – died of an illness without bearing him a child of his own. After her death Ram started drinking heavily and an accident damaged an arm permanently. He later appeared on one of India's hugely popular reality shows, angrily confronting a former employer, a bus owner. Though he left local girls alone, he was known amongst his neighbours for drunkenness, petty crime and occasional unpredictable violence. | In Delhi the pair lived alone. Their father, suffering "mental problems", according to a neighbour, had long returned to their village. Ram had married but his wife – a woman who had three children when she effectively eloped with him – died of an illness without bearing him a child of his own. After her death Ram started drinking heavily and an accident damaged an arm permanently. He later appeared on one of India's hugely popular reality shows, angrily confronting a former employer, a bus owner. Though he left local girls alone, he was known amongst his neighbours for drunkenness, petty crime and occasional unpredictable violence. |
| According to police Ram Singh had a Sunday evening routine of heavy drinking, some rough country cooking and then going out in the bus cruising Delhi's streets looking for "fun". That meant a little robbery to earn money for alcohol and to pay the roadside prostitutes. | According to police Ram Singh had a Sunday evening routine of heavy drinking, some rough country cooking and then going out in the bus cruising Delhi's streets looking for "fun". That meant a little robbery to earn money for alcohol and to pay the roadside prostitutes. |
| Then came 16 December 2012. On this Sunday too Singh had been drinking heavily with the five other accused, the police dossier of evidence claims. When his owner phoned asking him to take the bus on an errand – collecting a gas cylinder – Singh and his friends drove off. As he had done before, according to police, Singh organised a trap for unsuspecting prospective passengers, pretending the bus was one of the illegal but tolerated unlicensed vehicles that ply for trade in Delhi. | Then came 16 December 2012. On this Sunday too Singh had been drinking heavily with the five other accused, the police dossier of evidence claims. When his owner phoned asking him to take the bus on an errand – collecting a gas cylinder – Singh and his friends drove off. As he had done before, according to police, Singh organised a trap for unsuspecting prospective passengers, pretending the bus was one of the illegal but tolerated unlicensed vehicles that ply for trade in Delhi. |
| After about 10 minutes and several attempts to entice a victim at different bus stops, a man got on. Ram Singh shut the doors immediately behind him and his brother accelerated away, according to a statement made to police by one of the accused and viewed by The Guardian. | After about 10 minutes and several attempts to entice a victim at different bus stops, a man got on. Ram Singh shut the doors immediately behind him and his brother accelerated away, according to a statement made to police by one of the accused and viewed by The Guardian. |
| The man, a carpenter, later told investigators that he was beaten and robbed of his phone and 1,400 indian rupees (£17.50). He was then pushed out of the moving bus. He did not bother reporting the crime. | The man, a carpenter, later told investigators that he was beaten and robbed of his phone and 1,400 indian rupees (£17.50). He was then pushed out of the moving bus. He did not bother reporting the crime. |
| The next people to get on the bus were a couple: a 23-year-old physiotherapy student who had recently qualified and her 28-year-old male friend. Within moments of the bus pulling away with them on board there was a scuffle, according to the statements. "Where are you going with a young woman at this time of night?" Singh is alleged to have asked the woman's friend. "None of your business," came the reply. | The next people to get on the bus were a couple: a 23-year-old physiotherapy student who had recently qualified and her 28-year-old male friend. Within moments of the bus pulling away with them on board there was a scuffle, according to the statements. "Where are you going with a young woman at this time of night?" Singh is alleged to have asked the woman's friend. "None of your business," came the reply. |
| The man was then attacked and pinned down, stripped and beaten with an iron rod. The woman was taken to the back of the bus and repeatedly raped by Singh and the other men in turn. She was also repeatedly penetrated with the iron rod, causing most of the massive internal injuries that eventually killed her. | The man was then attacked and pinned down, stripped and beaten with an iron rod. The woman was taken to the back of the bus and repeatedly raped by Singh and the other men in turn. She was also repeatedly penetrated with the iron rod, causing most of the massive internal injuries that eventually killed her. |
| According to the statement of the male victim, one of their attackers shouted "She's dead" when the woman lost consciousness, bleeding profusely. They then decided to dump the pair, naked, by the side of a road and drove back to the slum colony where their journey had started around two hours before. Singh oversaw the cleaning of the bus and the partition of their victim's property: cash, debit cards, watches, phones and even the shoes of the man. | According to the statement of the male victim, one of their attackers shouted "She's dead" when the woman lost consciousness, bleeding profusely. They then decided to dump the pair, naked, by the side of a road and drove back to the slum colony where their journey had started around two hours before. Singh oversaw the cleaning of the bus and the partition of their victim's property: cash, debit cards, watches, phones and even the shoes of the man. |
| Singh's lawyer maintained his innocence, saying that all statements of the accused to police were made under duress. In interviews on Monday the lawyer said his client had been "happy" with the way the trial was going. | Singh's lawyer maintained his innocence, saying that all statements of the accused to police were made under duress. In interviews on Monday the lawyer said his client had been "happy" with the way the trial was going. |
| Singh faced the death penalty if convicted. He was charged with a range of offences including rape, murder, kidnapping, destruction of evidence, banditry and criminal conspiracy. | Singh faced the death penalty if convicted. He was charged with a range of offences including rape, murder, kidnapping, destruction of evidence, banditry and criminal conspiracy. |
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