Delhi gangrape: Trial begins today, police file supplementary chargesheet

The Delhi Police has filed a supplementary charge sheet in the 16 December Delhi gangrape case, setting the stage for the trial of the five main accused which is due to begin today.

The supplementary charge sheet filed by the police reportedly includes the post mortem report of the 23-year-old woman, which was prepared by the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore and other forensic reports, the Hindustan Times said in a report.

A fast track court in Delhi has already framed charges against the five men who are accused of brutally assaulting, murdering and gangraping the woman in a bus on 16 December. She died 13 days later in Singapore. The charges have been framed under 13 sections of the IPC.

The trial in the case is set to begin today and according to an NDTV report, four witnesses will appear before the court including the male friend of the woman who was with her on the night of the incident.
The fast track court will begin the trial of the five accused in the case today. AFP

The fast track court will begin the trial of the five accused in the case today. AFP

All the accused in the case: bus driver Ram Singh, his brother Mukesh, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Akshay Singh have pleaded not guilty. The sixth accused is presently facing action under the Juvenile Justice Act after he was declared a juvenile.

The accused have been charged with murder, gangrape, unnatural offence, destruction of evidence, attempt to murder, kidnapping, causing hurt while committing robbery, dacoity with murder, and common intent among others.

The hearing in the case started on 21 January at a fast-track court which was set up to try the case. The accused were formally charged in the Saket court 18 days after the incident.

In addition to the grievous assault on the girl, the men are also accused of assaulting her 28-year-old male friend. Both were thrown out of the bus after around 40 minutes, naked, bleeding and shivering. The friend is the main witness in the case.

The charge sheet, with annexures, runs into thousands of pages and includes the victim's statement, details of the accused, evidence and forensic reports.

All the accused were arrested between 17-21 December following nationwide outcry over the crime, which also triggered protests in several cities. In Delhi, protesters clashed with security forces.

The trial gets underway days after the union cabinet approved an ordinance for enhanced punishment in cases of crimes against women, including sexual assault, acid attacks, voyeurism and trafficking, as suggested by the Justice JS Verma Committee.

The government had recommended to President Pranab Mukherjee that an ordinance be issued.

The Verma Committee, set up by the government on 23 December to review laws to provide speedier justice and enhanced punishment in cases of aggravated sexual assault, submitted its report to the government 23 January. The panel was set up after the 16 December incident.