New Delhi, Jan 11 (IANS): The five accused in the Dec 16 gang-rape who were presented in a Delhi court Thursday have got lawyers to defend them.
Magistrate Namrita Aggarwal, conducting the proceedings in-camera, fixed Jan 14 for scrutiny of documents filed with the charge-sheet in the case.
The court had earlier passed an order for in-camera proceedings and curbed media from attending and reporting proceedings.
The five accused in the case are bus driver Ram Singh, his brother Mukesh, fruit seller Pawan Gupta, gym instructor Vinay Sharma and bus cleaner Akshay Thakur. All of them are now in Delhi's Tihar Central Jail. The case against the sixth accused, said to be a minor, is being heard by the Juvenile Justice Board.
The main accused in the case, Ram Singh has appointed advocate V.K. Anand as his counsel, while Mukesh appointed Manohar Lal Sharma.
Gupta will be defended by his counsel Vivek Sharma, while Akshay Thakur and Sharma will be represented by advocate A.P. Singh.
According to a defence lawyer, the police have moved an application for bringing the accused handcuffed to court.
Meanwhile, the court issued notice to the Delhi Police and asked it to file its response on an allegation by an advocate that police and the Safdarjung Hospital were negligent in dealing with the case and the victims.
Police Jan 3 had filed the charge-sheet against five out of six accused in the brutal gang-rape of the 23-year-old physiotherapy intern in a moving bus, leading to multiple-organ failure and her death.
All the accused also assaulted her 28-year-old male friend. Both were thrown out of the bus after around 40 minutes, naked, bleeding and shivering. The friend will be the main witness in the case.
The police have charged the five under sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 376 (2)(g) (gang-rape), 377 (unnatural offences), 395 (dacoity), 396 (murder in dacoity), 365 (kidnapping or abduction with intent to secretly or wrongfully confine a person), 394 (hurting in dacoity), 201 (destruction of evidence), 120B (conspiracy), 34 (common intention), 412 (dishonestly receiving stolen property), and 397 (robbery or dacoity with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) of the Indian Penal Code.
Comment on this article
prachi, kolkata
Sat, Jan 12 2013i hate the way they are calling these bunch of savages .. the '5 main accused and a minor'. what does that mean ?
just cuz he was apparently a minor .. he is already being given the benefit of doubt ? and for what ? it is obvious that he raped and was a part of all the torture that followed.
what 17 year old is incapable of understanding how sickening that is ? he didnt just blow a whistle or said something embarrassing to a girl passing by . yes that would call for just 3 years in jail alright.
i would say, even a 10 year old can understand that torturing any girl- or infact anyone - even an animal is so so wrong .
as for these monsters getting the lawers, i cant be too bothered. personally i would love for them to rot in jail than just easily die. let them pray for death, regret every single day what they did. feel so so depressed that they begin to go insane. so i hope their lawyers do a good job. let the morons live and die in jail - every single day of their pathetic lives.
yes, my prime concern is that minor .. i will pray for him to be treated like every other criminal, and not some innocent helpless little lost child.
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M Rao, Mangalore
Fri, Jan 11 2013Dear Lobo,
Nice of you.
My concern is not providing lawyer. It is the way lawyers going over board to supply their clients and mischievous tools adopted by them to same the criminals.
I am also concerned the inordinate delay in processing justice. If Kasab, who committed crime before world needs 4 years to be punished, what about the other crimes? The feeling that it takes ages to punish guilty and different levels of process makes ordinary citizen skeptical.
It is in the interest of all, law enforcement should become faster...even it results in some minor aberrations.
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Juliet Mascarenhas, Bejai/Mangalore
Fri, Jan 11 2013Vinay Sharma who had pleaded to hang him has come out with a defence lawyer. This means he wants to live to rape some more girls in future.
Knowing the truth what are these defending lawyers behind after all.
During proceedings line up all the female members of these lawyers family and make the criminals to repeat the heinous act.
Will these lawyers be able to tolerate.
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Lydia Lobo, Kadri
Fri, Jan 11 2013Mr. Rao,
I understand what your concern is. But, one cannot be tried with a lawyer to defend. For example Kasab too was given a counsel.
Never mind - we have many like Ram Jetmalani in India. Or, for that matter, there is one notorious member within us DW reader who whole heartedly supports rapists !
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M Rao, Mangalore
Fri, Jan 11 2013Since an ordinary Citizen do not understand the finer points of law, the support of Advocate is taken. Law also provides this facility to an individual, who can not engage an advocate by him self. The Advocates should extend legal support to his client to prove his innocence.
Unfortunately the noble profession is now degraded to help by giving ideas to culprits as to how to escape conviction by showing loop-holes in law. Many advocates, even if they know fully well that the culprit has committed crime, thinks it is their duty to save his client...a wrong mindset.
If this continue like this, it may not be far when public will seek revision in basic principle in our law...the accused is presumed innocent till his crime is proved and seek JUSTICE without conducting due process of justice.
Bad times.
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