India court scheduled to give first verdict in gang-rape case
N D AF A New Delhi court is due to hand down its verdict over the weekend in the case of a teenager accused of taking part in the fatal gang-rape of a student, which sparked outrage across the country.
The uvenile court has delayed releasing its verdict four times since finishing the case against the teenager, who was at the time of the brutal assault on a moving bus last December.
The separate trial of four adult suspects is hearing closing arguments and is expected to wrap up in the next few weeks, with the men facing a possible death sentence if convicted.
The fifth adult, the suspected ring leader, died in ail in an apparent suicide.
f found guilty, the uvenile can be sent to a correctional facility for a maximum three-year term, including time he has already spent in custody.
The parents of the victim have called for their daughter’s attackers to be hanged and critici ed what they view as the leniency of the uvenile ustice system, which seeks to reform rather than punish.
The perceived leniency of the maximum sentence means whatever the result there is likely to be further anger in ndia where the suspects, some of whom have been beaten up in ail, are public hate figures.
The Supreme ourt this month cleared the way for the principal magistrate, eetan li oel, to deliver a verdict.
t was delayed after a petition was lodged by an opposition politician for a review of the uvenile law, arguing suspects aged over accused of serious offences should be tried in adult courts.
iven the number of delays so far, lawyers involved in the case said they were hopeful rather than confident of finally hearing a decision.
opefully, the verdict will be delivered this time, the uvenile’s lawyer a esh Tiwari told AFP.
The 2 -year-old physiotherapy student died of internal in uries after being raped and assaulted with an iron bar on Dec. . er male companion was also allegedly beaten up before both were thrown from the bus.
The crime brought simmering anger about endemic sex crime in ndia to the boil.
Several weeks of sometimes violent protests pushed parliament to pass a new law toughening sentences for rapists, while a round of public soul-searching sought answers to the rising tide of violence against women.
The gang-rape this month of a 22-year-old photographer in the financial hub of umbai rekindled anger over women’s safety.
The uvenile, one of six children, was employed to clean the bus allegedly used for the attack and often slept rough or inside the vehicle, reports say.
e left his impoverished home in a village in northern Uttar radesh state aged to live in Delhi, where he took up a series of menial obs until landing the work of cleaning the bus.