‘Gang rape trial to take 3 more months’
18 Feb 2013 12:53 AM GMT
Trial of the five men charged with gang-raping a 23-year-old woman in a moving bus on 16 December will take another three months to conclude, say advocates.
Dayan Krishnan, the special public prosecutor in the case, said that ‘in another three months, the trial will be complete’.
The court was to hear the case daily, but after the judge’s father died, the trial has been in hold since 13 February. It will resume on 18 February (Monday), Krishnan said. The trial, continuing since 5 February in a fast track court in Saket in south Delhi, is not being reported as Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna has restrained the media from reporting the daily hearings.
V K Anand, the lawyer who represents main accused Ram Singh and his brother Mukesh in the court, also said the trial would continue for another three to four months.
‘There are so many witnesses that it will certainly take another three to four months to complete the proceedings. Now the court is recording the statements of witnesses, then cross-examinations will begin, followed by final arguments. The procedure probably will be complete in May-end,’ Anand said. A P Singh, who represents three other accused, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur, also said the judgment would come in two-three months’ time.
‘There are 80 witnesses in the case. The trial will take another two to three months,’ Singh said. The young woman, a physiotherapist trainee, was tortured and gang-raped by five men and a juvenile in a moving bus on 16 December. She and her male friend were then thrown off on the road – bloodied and without clothes.
The woman died in a Singapore hospital 13 days later. Her brutal attack sparked spontaneous protests in the country, forcing the government to take several steps, including setting up the fast track court on 19 December to try the five accused. The sixth, a minor, will be tried by the Juvenile Justice Board.
The police framed charges against the five on 2 February. Delhi Police have made 80 witnesses in the case including the woman’s friend, doctors of Safdarjang Hospital here and Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore and the magistrate who recorded the victim’s statement. The deposition of 80 witnesses was a time-consuming process, A.P. Singh said.
‘Till now, 10 witnesses have recorded their statements before the court. Seventy more witnessses have to depose and it will take time. Out of the 10 witnesses (who have recorded their statements), eight have been cross-examined and two are still left,’ counsel said.
He said police have also booked the five accused under 13 counts under the Indian Penal Code, including murder, rape, attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy. The accused have pleaded not guilty and sought trial.
CAPITAL MORE UNSAFE: FOREIGNERS
Thirty-year-old Hannah Backmeier from Germany is apprehensive about her safety every time she steps out of her hotel room in the national capital. The tourist arrived here with three female friends days soon after last December’s brutal gang-rape when the nation was seized with anger and shock.
The sense of insecurity among women that gripped the city affected them too. Fearing that something could happen, one of her friends flew back after staying for just a week.
‘When we arrived here, the newspapers were full of the gang-rape news. My friend was very scared and left for home,’ Backmeier, a backpacker staying in the Paharganj area in central Delhi, said. ‘We decided to stay and luckily, nothing untoward has happened to us,’ said Nikola Brauer, Backmeier’s friend. A visit this reporter made to markets thronged by foreign tourists and residential areas where foreign students live revealed that women were still apprehensive and not willing to trust anyone. ‘I often come to India for holiday and north Indian cities like Delhi, Haridwar, Pushkar are my favourites. Things have changed for me after the Delhi rape,’ Sandra Portman from New Zealand said.
Dayan Krishnan, the special public prosecutor in the case, said that ‘in another three months, the trial will be complete’.
The court was to hear the case daily, but after the judge’s father died, the trial has been in hold since 13 February. It will resume on 18 February (Monday), Krishnan said. The trial, continuing since 5 February in a fast track court in Saket in south Delhi, is not being reported as Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna has restrained the media from reporting the daily hearings.
V K Anand, the lawyer who represents main accused Ram Singh and his brother Mukesh in the court, also said the trial would continue for another three to four months.
‘There are so many witnesses that it will certainly take another three to four months to complete the proceedings. Now the court is recording the statements of witnesses, then cross-examinations will begin, followed by final arguments. The procedure probably will be complete in May-end,’ Anand said. A P Singh, who represents three other accused, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur, also said the judgment would come in two-three months’ time.
‘There are 80 witnesses in the case. The trial will take another two to three months,’ Singh said. The young woman, a physiotherapist trainee, was tortured and gang-raped by five men and a juvenile in a moving bus on 16 December. She and her male friend were then thrown off on the road – bloodied and without clothes.
The woman died in a Singapore hospital 13 days later. Her brutal attack sparked spontaneous protests in the country, forcing the government to take several steps, including setting up the fast track court on 19 December to try the five accused. The sixth, a minor, will be tried by the Juvenile Justice Board.
The police framed charges against the five on 2 February. Delhi Police have made 80 witnesses in the case including the woman’s friend, doctors of Safdarjang Hospital here and Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore and the magistrate who recorded the victim’s statement. The deposition of 80 witnesses was a time-consuming process, A.P. Singh said.
‘Till now, 10 witnesses have recorded their statements before the court. Seventy more witnessses have to depose and it will take time. Out of the 10 witnesses (who have recorded their statements), eight have been cross-examined and two are still left,’ counsel said.
He said police have also booked the five accused under 13 counts under the Indian Penal Code, including murder, rape, attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy. The accused have pleaded not guilty and sought trial.
CAPITAL MORE UNSAFE: FOREIGNERS
Thirty-year-old Hannah Backmeier from Germany is apprehensive about her safety every time she steps out of her hotel room in the national capital. The tourist arrived here with three female friends days soon after last December’s brutal gang-rape when the nation was seized with anger and shock.
The sense of insecurity among women that gripped the city affected them too. Fearing that something could happen, one of her friends flew back after staying for just a week.
‘When we arrived here, the newspapers were full of the gang-rape news. My friend was very scared and left for home,’ Backmeier, a backpacker staying in the Paharganj area in central Delhi, said. ‘We decided to stay and luckily, nothing untoward has happened to us,’ said Nikola Brauer, Backmeier’s friend. A visit this reporter made to markets thronged by foreign tourists and residential areas where foreign students live revealed that women were still apprehensive and not willing to trust anyone. ‘I often come to India for holiday and north Indian cities like Delhi, Haridwar, Pushkar are my favourites. Things have changed for me after the Delhi rape,’ Sandra Portman from New Zealand said.
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