Delhi gang-rape case: All four accused convicted, sentencing tomorrow

NEW DELHI – A special Delhi court on Tuesday found four men guilty of gang-raping and murdering a 23-year-old paramedical student in a moving bus here in December last year, a case that evoked nationwide outrage and led the government to bring in stringent anti-rape laws.
The court would hear arguments on the quantum of sentenceon Wednesday.

Besides gang rape and murder, the court held Mukesh (26), Vinay Sharma (20), Pawan Gupta (19) and Akshay Singh Thakur (28) guilty of attempt to murder, unnatural offences, dacoity, destruction of evidence, conspiracy, kidnapping or abducting in order to murder, while acquitting them of the charge of murder in dacoity.

Additional sessions judge Yogesh Khanna, presiding the special fast track court, also convicted them for kidnapping or abducting with intent to secretly and wrongfully confining a person, abducting to subject a person to grievous hurt and slavery, abducting woman to cause her defilement, voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery and dishonestly receiving property stolen in the commission of a dacoity of the IPC.

As soon as the verdict was delivered, Pawan broke down while Vinay stood in a state of shock.

Mukesh was heard saying, “that they would have to face the consequences for what they have done”. The fourth convict Akshay seemed unaffected.

“All the accused have been convicted for various offences including attempt to kill the complainant (victim’s male friend), for gang rape with the victim and also for unnatural sex with her and killing the victim…

“The accused have also tried to destroy the evidence after the incident, so they are convicted under section 201 of the IPC. They had abducted the victim to have illicit intercourse with her, so they are convicted under section 366 of the IPC,” the judge said while pronouncing the judgment.

The murder charge, for which the four men have been convicted, entails a maximum of death penalty and life term as the minimum punishment.

While pronouncing the verdict, the judge said, even though the proceedings against accused Ram Singh (34), who was found dead in his prison cell after he committed suicide onMarch 11, were abated, “he is also convicted under same sections (gang rape, murder and other offences)”. – Times of India.