Police are to formally charge five suspects with rape, kidnapping and murder after the woman died at the weekend. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
NEW DELHI:
Police formally charged five men Thursday with the gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old student, a crime which appalled India and led to national soul-searching about the treatment of women.
Police filed a string of charges including murder, rape and kidnapping against the suspects, listing evidence in a confidential 1,000-page document submitted to a district court in the south of the capital New Delhi.
The five aged between 35 and 19, who would face the death penalty if convicted, had been expected in court but were not present when the media were allowed in to listen to part of the proceedings.
“We have filed the charge sheet against the five accused,” an investigating police officer told a woman district magistrate. She is expected to transfer the case to a fast-track trial court when the next hearing is held on Saturday.
The medical student from north India was repeatedly raped and violated with an iron bar on a moving bus in the capital on December 16 as she returned from a cinema with her boyfriend.
Protesters have massed in Indian cities daily since the assault to demand the government and police take sex crimes more seriously, with tougher penalties for offenders and even chemical castration among measures being considered.
The latest incident, though far from rare in a country where gang rapes are commonplace, has led to an outpouring of criticism and deep self-reflection in the media and the political class about crimes against women in India.
A statement from the Delhi victim, who died at the weekend from her injuries, and an account from her boyfriend, who was badly beaten during the attack, are expected to form crucial parts of the evidence against the five.
A sixth suspect who is believed to be a minor aged 17 was not charged in the court at Saket on Thursday. Detectives are awaiting the results of a bone test to verify his age and determine whether he can be tried in an adult court.
Amid public clamour for the guilty to be executed, Altamas Kabir, the country’s chief justice, has cautioned against letting anger overwhelm the due process of the law.
“Let us not get carried away. A swift trial should not be at the cost of a fair trial,” Kabir was quoted as saying in the local media on Thursday.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 4th, 2013.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ