Delhi gang-rape case: Trial to start on Feb 5, victim’s family seeks death for accused

New Delhi, 02 Feb 2013 (PTI): A fast-track court here here has paved the way for the trial from Tuesday of five men accused of gang-raping a young woman in a moving bus on December 16, 2012, by framing charges against them.

 

Additional sessions judge Yogendra Khanna Saturday framed the charges of murder, gang-rape and kidnapping, among others, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the accused.

 

The five accused are Ram Singh, a bus driver, and his brother Mukesh, Pawan Gupta, a fruit seller, Vinay Sharma, a gym instructor, and Akshay Thakur, a bus cleaner. They are currently lodged in Tihar Jail.

 

The other charges framed against them are unnatural offence, destruction of evidence, attempt to murder, causing hurt while committing robbery, dacoity with murder, and common intent.

 

The Juvenile Justice Board declared the sixth accused a minor last month, and his case will be heard by the board.

 

The pre-trial proceedings in the case started on January 21 at the fast-track court which was set up for the case that led to a nation-wide outrage against crimes against women.

 

The accused were formally charged by police in the Saket court 18 days after they gang-raped and tortured the 23-year-old physiotherapy intern in a moving bus, causing multiple-organ failure that led to her death.

 

They also assaulted her 28-year-old male friend. Both were thrown out of the bus after around 40 minutes, naked, bleeding and shivering. The friend is the main witness in the case.

 

The chargesheet, with annexures, ran into thousands of pages and included the victim’s statement, details of the accused, evidence and forensic reports.

 

All the accused were arrested between Dec 17-21, 2012.

 

The Union Cabinet on Friday approved an ordinance for enhanced punishment in cases of crimes against women, including sexual assault, acid attacks, voyeurism and trafficking, as suggested by the Justice JS Verma Committee.

 

The government recommended to President Pranab Mukherjee that an ordinance be issued.

 

The Verma Committee, set up by the government on December 23, 2012 after the gang-rape to review laws to provide speedier justice and enhanced punishment in cases of aggravated sexual assault, submitted its report on January 23.

 

Gang-rape victim’s family welcomes court’s decision

The Delhi gang-rape victim’s family welcomed a court’s decision for accepting 13 charges by Delhi Police against the five accused on Saturday.

 

When the victim’s family was informed about the fast-track court’s decision, the father of the 23-year-old woman said that he was happy about the decision.

 

"I feel that the five accused, except of the sixth who is a juvenile, will be convicted by the end of Feb," he said.

 

The victim’s younger brother said: "I request to sentence the five accused to be hanged."

 

"My sister wanted to the accused to be burnt alive. My family’s wish is to hang five of the six accused. In case of the sixth accused, who was declared a juvenile by a juvenile justice board, police should approach the higher court for his bone ossification test," he added.

 

The woman died on December 29 in a Singapore hospital where she had been airlifted for specialised treatment.

 

The father of the 28-year-old male software engineer, who was brutally beaten by the accused on the fateful night when they boarded a bus on December 16, also said that they welcome the court’s decision.

 

"My son, the only eyewitness in the case, will appear before the fast-track court on February 5. He will tell the court what had happened that night," the father, who is a lawyer, said.

 

"I think the decision will come soon as the trial will be held in a fast-track court," he said.

 

He said that they would challenge the decision of the Juvenile Justice Board that said the sixth accused is a minor. A juvenile justice home had declared the sixth accused to be a minor Jan 28 after examining his school certificate produced by his school’s principal.

 

"As per law, a complainant can challenge the decision of the Juvenile Justice Board before a sessions judge within 60 days," he said.

 

Justice Yogendra Khanna framed the charges under 13 sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against five accused in the gang-rape case.

 

The six were arrested a few days after the gang-rape. Five of them were sent to judicial custody. The sixth was sent to a juvenile justice home as he claims he is a minor.

 

The five accused are Ram Singh, a bus driver; his brother Mukesh; Pawan Gupta, a fruit seller; Vinay Sharma, a gym instructor, and Akshay Thakur, a bus cleaner. They have been charged with murder, attempt to murder, gang-rape, unnatural offence, destruction of evidence, kidnapping, causing hurt while committing robbery, dacoity with murder and common intent, among others.