Brought to court with faces muffled, hands bound

Surrounded by around 20 police officials, three of the gang rape accused were brought inside packed Saket Courts on Wednesday through rear entry gate of the complex with their faces muffled and hands bound.

Police said special steps were taken due to imminent threat to Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Mukesh Singh’s safety.

“Protests are being carried across the country, so we do not want any untoward incident taking place in the court. We do not want them to be identified in public or anyone acting in a fit of rage,” a police official said.

They were kept surrounded by police officials as they visited the court rooms of metropolitan magistrates Namrita Aggarwal and Sandeep Garg around 1 pm.

None, except court officials, were allowed to speak with them and were kept in the middle of the courtroom away from visiting lawyers and mediapersons.

As scores of mediapersons  waited inside and outside the court, officials were strict on the issue of the accused being photographed.

“We have been issued orders that visuals and photographs of the accused must not be allowed to be taken.

Therefore, we ensured that cellphones were not being operated inside the courtroom and instructions were given to mediapersons present there,” the official added.

Pawan, Vinay and Mukesh were whisked away from the courtrooms in the same way as they were brought in.