THE NIRBHAYA CASE-THE ARREST

                     




Police found and arrested some suspects within 24 hours of the crime.^[51] From recordings made by a highway CCTV vehicle, a description of the bus, a white charter bus with a name written on it, was broadcast. Other operators identified it as being contracted by a South Delhi private school. They then traced it and found its driver, Ram Singh. Police obtained sketches of the assailants with the help of the male victim, and used a cell phone stolen from the two victims to find one of the assailants.^[51]
Six men were arrested in connection with the incident. They included Ram Singh, the bus driver, and his brother, Mukesh Singh, who were both arrested in Rajasthan. Ram and Mukesh Singh lived in Ravidas camp, a slum in South Delhi.^[52] Vinay Sharma, an assistant gym instructor, and Pawan Gupta, a fruit seller, were both arrested in Delhi.^[53] A seventeen-year-old juvenile from Badayun, Uttar Pradesh,^[54][55][56] was arrested at the Anand Vihar terminal in Delhi. The juvenile had only met the others that day.^[56] Akshay Thakur, who had come to Delhi seeking employment, was arrested in Aurangabad.^[53][57]
According to reports, the group had been eating and drinking together and "having a party" earlier in the day.^[3] Although the charter bus which Ram Singh drove on weekdays was not permitted to pick up public passengers^[19] or even to operate in Delhi because of its tinted windows,^[58] they decided to take it out "to have some fun".^[3] With Mukesh Singh driving, they first picked up a carpenter who was charged 10 for a ticket and then robbed of 8,000 and ejected in South Delhi.^[58]
Shortly after the attacks, Gupta said he accepted his guilt and should be hanged.^[59][60] Mukesh Singh, who was placed in Tihar Jail after his arrest, was assaulted by other inmates and was kept in solitary confinement for his own protection.^[61]
Ram Singh was presented before the Metropolitan Magistrate on 18 December 2012.^[62] He refused to participate in an identification process.^[58] Investigation revealed a history of frequent drinking that resulted in "blinding rage", "bad temper", and quarrels with employers, that had led friends to call him "mental".^[63] On 11 March, Ram Singh was discovered hanging from a ventilator shaft in his cell at about 5:45 am.^[64] Authorities said it was unclear whether it was a suicide or a murder.^[65][66][67