Courtesy of Betwa Sharma Niranjan Kumar Mandal outside his house in New Delhi on March 15.NEW DELHI â€" The death of Ram Singh, one of the six defendants in the Delhi gang rape case who was found hanged in his cell, has raised speculation about its cause and questions about the management of Tihar Jail. While the post-mortem report suggested suicide, Mr. Singh’s parents contend that the police murdered him, in part because both his arms were dmaged from previous accidents.
What really happened on the morning of March 11 may never be known, but it has put life inside Tihar, one of India’s best-known jails, under scrutiny.
The gang rape of a 23-year-old student on Dec. 16, which led to nationwide protests and caused international furor, was regarded so barbaric that many Indians demanded the death penalty for Mr. Singh and the five others accused of the crime. Shortly after Mr. Singh entered Tihar Jail, some news outlets reported he was beaten by other inmates.
To understand the experience of sex offender suspects in jail, India Ink spoke with Niranjan Kumar Mandal, who was charged in the gang rape of a 23-year-old pregnant woman in a moving car in Delhi in July 2005. The case, known as the May! apuri gang rape case, sent shock waves through the capital because not only was the young woman pregnant, she had a speech and hearing impairment as well.
The police, under intense public pressure, caught the wrong man. After spending four years in Tihar Jail, Mr. Mandal was acquitted in March 2010 by the trial court for lack of evidence. In 2011, he sued the Delhi government for 45 million rupees ($800,000) for falsely implicating him. The case for compensation is still pending in the Delhi High Court.
Mr. Mandal spoke about his arrest, his time spent in Tihar Jail, the behavior of his fellow inmates and the suffering of his family. He also shared his thoughts on Mr. Singh’s death.
Can you tell us what happened after the police arrested you
I was a family man who was doing well, and they suddenly came and took me away on the evening of Jan. 17, 2006. At the Hari Nagar police station, they took of all my clothes except my underpants and beat me. They made me sign on many blank sheets of paper.
I was kept standing in the cold for the whole night. Only when I started shivering by morning did they give me some hot tea. I know my family must have been looking for me, but they didn’t let me call anyone.
How long did this continue
For three days. Given the chance, I would have committed suicide. They would open my legs and pin me against the wall. And then I was stripped and a lady S.H.O. [station house officer] stood on my thighs. The lower part of my body was numb, and I fainted. They must have done this 13-14 times in three days.
And at that time I was chubbier, so they used to pull the fat on both sides of my waist. I asked them to shoot me instead of beating me. They didn’t let me take a bath or even use the toilet when I wanted to. They took me to the court on Jan. 19 and then to Tihar Jail.
Tihar has a reputation of violence by inmates against prisoners charged with rape. Were you scared about being taken there
I was really scared. I started crying on the first day when I went to buy medicine from the pharmacy area. A crowd gathered around me, and some were sympathetic. The inmates are able to gauge the truth about a new fellow. They read the papers and watch television. They know who is innocent and who is guilty, and they treat you accordingly.
But when I went to get medicine, a couple of doctors sneered at me and said, “Okay, so this is the guy.†The next day, I was told by the warden to sweep the floor. But then a convict came and said I shouldn’t be asked to sweep because I had been badly beaten and couldn’t lift my feet. There are good guys there too.
Were you threatened or beaten by the police inside Tihar
Once the police threatened me. They told me that Tihar had eally dangerous people and someone could cut my face with a blade. I had heard that inmates do that kind of thing for money. They sometimes blackmail a slightly more well-off prisoner to get money. Sometimes the police and the inmates are in it together. I was scared that my face would be bunged up. But nobody did that to me. And the police never beat me inside Tihar.
Did the inmates who had actually raped someone talk about it
Yes, they did. Inside Tihar, milk becomes milk and water becomes water, because everyone reveals their own crimes after a few days. Then after a while, one understands who is a criminal and who has been framed. Most people inside have not committed crimes. And most people who have committed one tell you how they did it.
Did the inmates target other inmates they knew to be rapists
They are severely beaten up. They put a blanket on such a person! , and the! n about 10 guys beat him until he faints. And he is threatened not to say anything. The police always come late.
They [the rapists] are made to clean out the toilets. They are sometimes made to stick their hands inside the toilet.
Sometimes, prisoners falsely accused of rape are the ones doing the beatings. These inmates are angry because they feel that they are stuck in prison because of the ones who are guilty.
Did you beat anyone
No, I didn’t.
What was life like inside Tihar
It’s a choking feeling. I can’t explain it in words. You can’t breathe. You know your family is having problems outside. How long can one stay in a room and think about what the world will say You don’t feel hungry or thirsty. You don’t want to have a bath. The depression grows. I got thinner. My waist went from 34 inches to 30 inches. My hair became gray.
Did you ever contemplate suicide
Yes, I did. But then I saw my children and stopped. And I knew I was innocent. I thought, if I was convicted, then I would commit suicide because I couldn’t face society and nobody would have believed that I didn’t do it. But if I was acquitted, then I planned to fight against the injustice by filing a case against the government.
You may have heard of the recent case of Ram Singh’s apparent suicide. You are familiar with the atmosphere inside the jail. What do you make of it
Ram Singh is someone who would have been beaten up and harassed by the inmates. Even the police could not have stopped them. He probably saw that everyone would always think badly of him for his whole life because of what he done. That feeling can make one stop wanting to live.
So you don’t think the police had a hand in it
The police would have beaten him outside and maybe even in the jail. But I don’t think the police would have killed him.
You’ve been out of jail for three years. Are things better for your family now
Still people don’t believe I am innocent. If you’ve been in jail, they presume you’re guilty. People ask me, ‘Why were you in jail for so long’ The media will give big headlines when someone is arrested, but nobody reports an acquittal.
And some damage is permanent. My boy was taunted so much that his studies suffered and he had to leave school after the eighth grade. Relatives and neighbors can’t forget it. We are not invited anywhere. My son just wanted the neighbors to verify his identity so that he could get a passport. But they refused.
It’s a scar that my family may have to live with forever.
(The interview has been lightly edited and condensed.)
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