<p>Eighteen days after the gang-rape of a 23-year-old paramedical student in a moving bus in south Delhi, the city police on Thursday filed a 33-page charge sheet at a Saket court, mentioning minute details of the brutal attack.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The formal set of charges, which came along with over 1,200 pages of evidence, was filed against five of the six accused before Metropolitan Magistrate Surya Malik Grover at around 5:30 pm. Those named are Ram Singh, 33, his brother Mukesh Singh, 24, Pawan Gupta, 18, Vinay Sharma, 20, and Akshay Thakur, 28. <br /><br />Grover has posted the matter for cognisance on Friday. Once the court takes cognisance of the case, it will be moved to a designated fast-track court which might conduct an in-camera trial.<br /><br />The accused face charges under Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 201 (destruction of evidence), 365 (kidnapping), 376-2G (gang rape), 377 (unnatural offences), 395 (dacoity), 396 (dacoity with murder), 34 (common intention) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.<br /><br />The sixth accused, a 17-year-old boy, has not been included in the charge sheet. A supplementary charge sheet will be filed if results of an ossification test prove that he is a major. Otherwise, he will be tried by the Juvenile Justice Board. However, the boy’s role in the incident has been highlighted in the charge sheet. <br /><br />The police have also sought an order barring disclosure of the contents of the documents to the media to protect the victim’s identity and appealed for a day’s time to file an e-charge sheet.<br /><br />The victim’s statement to a sub-divisional magistrate and a metropolitan magistrate, while undergoing treatment at Safdarjung Hospital, was also submitted in sealed covers. It is being viewed as a key evidence against the accused.<br /><br />The case will be heard on a day-to-day basis with no adjournments at a fast-track court inaugurated by Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir on Wednesday. <br /><br />Though the police wanted to wrap up the trial in a short time, it will be a difficult task since the Saket District Court Bar Association has passed a resolution stating that none of the lawyers will defend the accused. <br /><br />An advocate, Arjun Natarajan, has volunteered to defend the accused saying he wanted to be a part of the case to ensure that the culprits are punished as soon as possible.<br /><br />“If no lawyer comes up to defend the accused, the case would not even be sent to the sessions court. So, I volunteer to check the documents and fulfill the procedure,” Natarajan said. <br /><br />In the charge sheet, the police have mentioned the entire sequence of events from the time Ram Singh, the main accused, and five others had a party, following which they took the bus out for a trip to earn money to buy more alcohol.<br />Apart from the victim’s statement, the police will also use her medical report and male friend’s statement as evidence. <br /><br />The medical report said her injuries were grievous enough to cause death. <br />CCTV footage and forensic evidence will also lend strength to the case.<br />The woman had succumbed to brain injuries and severe internal damage in Singapore’s Mount Elizabeth Hospital on December 29.<br /></p>
<p>Eighteen days after the gang-rape of a 23-year-old paramedical student in a moving bus in south Delhi, the city police on Thursday filed a 33-page charge sheet at a Saket court, mentioning minute details of the brutal attack.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The formal set of charges, which came along with over 1,200 pages of evidence, was filed against five of the six accused before Metropolitan Magistrate Surya Malik Grover at around 5:30 pm. Those named are Ram Singh, 33, his brother Mukesh Singh, 24, Pawan Gupta, 18, Vinay Sharma, 20, and Akshay Thakur, 28. <br /><br />Grover has posted the matter for cognisance on Friday. Once the court takes cognisance of the case, it will be moved to a designated fast-track court which might conduct an in-camera trial.<br /><br />The accused face charges under Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 201 (destruction of evidence), 365 (kidnapping), 376-2G (gang rape), 377 (unnatural offences), 395 (dacoity), 396 (dacoity with murder), 34 (common intention) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.<br /><br />The sixth accused, a 17-year-old boy, has not been included in the charge sheet. A supplementary charge sheet will be filed if results of an ossification test prove that he is a major. Otherwise, he will be tried by the Juvenile Justice Board. However, the boy’s role in the incident has been highlighted in the charge sheet. <br /><br />The police have also sought an order barring disclosure of the contents of the documents to the media to protect the victim’s identity and appealed for a day’s time to file an e-charge sheet.<br /><br />The victim’s statement to a sub-divisional magistrate and a metropolitan magistrate, while undergoing treatment at Safdarjung Hospital, was also submitted in sealed covers. It is being viewed as a key evidence against the accused.<br /><br />The case will be heard on a day-to-day basis with no adjournments at a fast-track court inaugurated by Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir on Wednesday. <br /><br />Though the police wanted to wrap up the trial in a short time, it will be a difficult task since the Saket District Court Bar Association has passed a resolution stating that none of the lawyers will defend the accused. <br /><br />An advocate, Arjun Natarajan, has volunteered to defend the accused saying he wanted to be a part of the case to ensure that the culprits are punished as soon as possible.<br /><br />“If no lawyer comes up to defend the accused, the case would not even be sent to the sessions court. So, I volunteer to check the documents and fulfill the procedure,” Natarajan said. <br /><br />In the charge sheet, the police have mentioned the entire sequence of events from the time Ram Singh, the main accused, and five others had a party, following which they took the bus out for a trip to earn money to buy more alcohol.<br />Apart from the victim’s statement, the police will also use her medical report and male friend’s statement as evidence. <br /><br />The medical report said her injuries were grievous enough to cause death. <br />CCTV footage and forensic evidence will also lend strength to the case.<br />The woman had succumbed to brain injuries and severe internal damage in Singapore’s Mount Elizabeth Hospital on December 29.<br /></p>
