Men charged over Delhi gang rape

Jan 3 2013

Indian police have filed rape and murder charges against five men accused in the gang rape of a woman on a New Delhi bus.

Police say they plan to push for the death penalty in the case. A sixth suspect is expected to be tried in juvenile court.

The five were charged with raping the 23-year-old woman for hours and beating her companion as the bus drove through the capital. The woman died on Saturday in a hospital in Singapore from massive internal injuries.

Prosecutor Rajiv Mohan filed a case of rape, tampering with evidence, kidnapping, murder and other charges against the men in a new fast-track court in south Delhi inaugurated only the day before to deal specifically with crimes against women.

Mr Mohan asked for a closed trial and a hearing was set for Saturday.

The men charged are Ram Singh, 33, the bus driver; his brother Mukesh Singh, 26, who cleans buses for the same company; Pavan Gupta, 19, a fruit vendor; Akshay Singh, 24, a bus washer; and Vinay Sharma, 20, a fitness trainer.

A sixth suspect was listed as 17 and was expected to face a juvenile court, where the maximum sentence would be three years in a reform facility.

Women's activists hope the rape and killing of the university student on December 16 will mark a turning point in India's behaviour towards women. The victim, whose name has not been revealed, was attacked after boarding a bus with a male companion after watching an evening showing of the movie Life Of Pi.

Since the attack, women have held near-daily protests and candlelight vigils in New Delhi, demanding action to stop the daily harassment they face, from groping to even more violent attacks.