A suspect in the abduction, rape and murder of a student in the Indian capital, Delhi, has been found dead in prison, his lawyer has confirmed.
Senior police officers told news agencies that Ram Singh had hanged himself in Tihar jail, Delhi.
Ram Singh was one of five men being held in the case. They all deny the charges.
The brutal attack on the student in December outraged India and triggered a debate about the treatment of women.
A sixth suspect is being tried by a juvenile court.
Ram Singh's lawyer, VK Anand, told the BBC he was informed about his client's death by police.
The website of Indian news channel NDTV, quoting jail officials, said Ram Singh had hanged himself at around 05:00 local time on Monday (23:30 GMT Sunday).
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image of Soutik Biswas Analysis Soutik Biswas India correspondent
Authorities say Tihar is one of the most secure and modern prisons in India. It is equipped with CCTV cameras, mobile phone jamming devices, scanners and metal detectors. The sprawling campus hardly looks like a prison.
It is also India's most high-profile prison, where a number of prominent politicians and businessmen facing trial in corruption cases have been lodged.
Therefore it is baffling how a high-profile prisoner like Ram Singh, who is on trial, could take his own life in a modern maximum security prison like Tihar.
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Ram Singh and the four other adult defendants - his brother Mukesh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur - have been on trial in a fast-track court.
They face 13 charges, including murder, gang-rape, kidnapping and destruction of evidence. If found guilty they face the death sentence.
The maximum sentence the juvenile would face if convicted would be three years in a reform facility.
The 23-year-old rape victim, who was not named for legal reasons, was with a male friend when she was attacked on a bus and thrown from the vehicle.
She died in a Singapore hospital on 29 December from massive internal injuries.
Ram Singh was accused of being the driver of the bus.
Tihar prison, which authorities claim is the largest in Asia, is India's most high-security prison.
The 55-year-old jail houses more than 12,000 inmates although it has an official capacity of about 6,000.
The complex includes nine separate prison facilities.
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Delhi rape accused found dead in prison
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