Night of shame continues……

Despite  the  seizure  of  the  bus  and  other  pieces of incriminating evidence, Ram Singh, when brought to the police station, denied his involvement in the crime. He first refused to participate in the test identification parade before Awindra. He tried to pass on the blame to his brother Mukesh, who, he said, had taken the bus the previous evening without his permission. On being asked about Mukesh’s whereabouts, Ram Singh said he had run away to their village in Rajasthan. But, we had a piece of evidence of Ram Singh’s involvement that he could not rebut. His mobile phone data showed that he was in Hauz Khas at 9.16 p.m. for thirteen seconds, then at Vasant Gaon at 10.04 p.m. for fifty-one seconds and again at the same location at 10.06 p.m. for twenty-five seconds. These were spots on the route taken by the bus, as per the investigation made thus far. When confronted with this evidence, he admitted to having driven the bus but maintained he was not a party to what may have happened at the rear of the bus.

DCP Chhaya ordered his medical examination. Bruises were found on his body and blood on his clothes. A cast of his teeth was taken and his jaw photographed. The bite marks found on the body of the female victim were to be matched with the cast of his teeth and the bloodstains on his clothes were to be DNA fingerprinted with the blood of the victims.

It was only at 4 p.m. on 17 December—the day after the crime—that Ram Singh (aged thirty-four) accepted his involvement and gave a graphic account of the sequence of events. The details given by him matched Awindra’s statement. He was placed under arrest, and I received information of the breakthrough from Vivek Gogia who was the joint commissioner of police, Southern Range. In fact, I still remember exactly where I was when I received the message. I was on C Hexagon near India Gate, on my way to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in North Block.

To be continued……