New Delhi, Mar 11 (IANS): Ram Singh, main accused in the Dec 16 gang-rape of a 23-year-old, did not commit suicide; he was murdered in Delhi's Tihar Jail, his family members said Monday.

"He was killed and later hanged in the jail. He told us several times that he was threatened in the jail. We lodged a complaint in this regard. It was not suicide," said Mangey Lal, Ram Singh's father, talking to reporters outside Tihar jail.

"He has already confessed to have committed the rape and sought death punishment. We have also said that he should be hanged. He was thrashed by Tihar inmates several times," Mangey Lal said.

The family demanded an inquiry into the matter.

"He couldn't have committed suicide, he accepted his crime. We want an inquiry into the matter," Ram Singh's mother, who was also outside the jail Monday, said.

Gang-rape victim's brother shocked by Ram Singh's suicide
The brother of the 23-year-old physiotherapist, who was brutally gang-raped inside a moving bus here Dec 16, 2012, expressed shock on hearing of the suicide of the prime accused, Ram Singh, inside Tihar Jail Monday.

The brother of the victim said, however, that Ram Singh deserved the death penalty for his crime.

The 20-year-old brother of the victim told IANS over phone that he was shocked on learning of the suicide in the high-security jail.

"Ram Singh should have faced the gallows. He should have been hanged publicly," the victim's brother said.

The brother, however, did not blame Tihar authorities: "If someone wants to commit suicide, he will do it anyway. We cannot blame anyone," he said.

The victim's brother said: "Ram Singh was aware that there was strong evidence against him and that he could get the death penalty. The case is going on on a daily basis, and by April we will know the verdict," he said.

"I think he would have felt guilty about the incident because he did a wrong thing by hurting an innocent person in such a brutal manner. I want the trial to be completed at the earliest. All other accused in the case should get death sentence," he added.

Ram Singh, 33, main accused in the horrific gang-rape case which caused massive social outrage, committed suicide by hanging himself in ward no. 5 of jail no. 3 in Tihar Jail Monday around 5 a.m.