Monday 28 January 2013

Indian teenager accused of Delhi gang-rape only faces a maximum of just three-year jail term


  • Accused teenager will be tried as a juvenile, special panel rules
  • Police were hoping he would be included in main trial of five co-accused
  • A juvenile board accepted school records showing he was born in June 1995
By James Rush
An Indian teenager accused of taking part in the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student in New Delhi will be tried as a juvenile, facing a maximum of three years in prison if convicted, a special panel has ruled.
The teenager has not yet been formally charged because police were hoping he would be declared an adult so they could include him in the main trial of his five co-accused.
He does not have a lawyer and his account of what happened on December 16 is not known.
Hearing: An Indian teenager accused in the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student in New Delhi will face a maximum of three years when he is tried as a juvenile
Hearing: An Indian teenager accused in the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student in New Delhi will face a maximum of three years when he is tried as a juvenile
The ruling shocked the victim's father, who watched the news flash across his television screen.
'A sudden current ran through my body in disbelief. I can't believe this,'  he said. 'How can they declare him a minor? Do they not see what they did?'
Lawyers for the five accused men said they would plead not guilty. One has accused police of torturing him, his lawyer said.
 
The panel's decision on the youth is likely to infuriate many people, including protesters, some police and political leaders, who have called for the age at which people can be tried as adults to be lowered to 16 from 18.
A government committee examining changes to sexual crime laws, however, last week ruled out such a move.
Police allege the 17-year-old and five men gang-raped and severely beat the student on a moving bus in the capital before dumping her and a male friend in the road. The woman was so badly injured that she died of massive organ failure in a Singapore hospital two weeks later.
Lawyers for the five accused men said they would plead not guilty. Picture shows Indian Delhi police personnel outside Saket district court complex in New Delhi on Thursday
Lawyers for the five accused men said they would plead not guilty. Picture shows Indian Delhi police personnel outside Saket district court complex in New Delhi on Thursday
President Pranab Mukherjee made a call during a television address on Friday for the country to 'reset its moral compass'
President Pranab Mukherjee made a call during a television address on Friday for the country to 'reset its moral compass'
The case has sparked national debate about rampant crime against women.
President Pranab Mukherjee, made an unusual call in a television state-of-the nation address on Friday for the country to 'reset its moral compass'.
A juvenile board, comprising a magistrate and two child welfare activists, said it accepted school records showing the juvenile, who may not be identified, as having been born on June 4, 1995. It said a bone density test to determine his age was not necessary.
Police, who suspect that he is older than 17, said they could appeal the board's ruling, although there was no immediate plan to do so.
'This is wrong. We need the bone test to determine the accused real age, certificates can be forged,' the victim's younger brother said.
Indian protesters hold candles during a rally in New Delhi late December 29, 2012, following the death of the 23-year-old gang rape victim
Indian protesters hold candles during a rally in New Delhi late December 29, 2012, following the death of the 23-year-old gang rape victim
The teenager, who attended today's hearing, will now stand trial before the juvenile board and if convicted will be sent to a juvenile detention centre.
Meanwhile, lawyers for his five fellow accused presented arguments for the first time in a pre-trial hearing that will determine what charges the five men will face when the case eventually goes to trial.
In India, all rape cases are held in closed court to protect the identity of the victim. This rule is being enforced in the New Delhi gang rape case even though the victim's family has already said they are not opposed to her being identified.
 MailOnline

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