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Four Convicted For Delhi Gang Rape
BBC NEWS, INDIA
September 10, 2013: Four men have been found guilty of the fatal gang rape of a medical student in the Indian capital Delhi last December. The 23-year-old woman was brutally assaulted on a bus and died two weeks later. Her death led to days of huge protests across India in a wave of unprecedented anger. The case forced the introduction of tough new laws to punish sexual offences. The four men are expected to be sentenced on Wednesday.
Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur and Pawan Gupta denied charges including rape and murder. They could face the death penalty over the attack on the physiotherapy student.
Dozens of reporters as well as protesters calling for harsh sentencing gathered outside the court to await the verdict.
"I convict all of the accused. They have been found guilty of gang rape, unnatural offences, destruction of evidence... and for committing the murder of the helpless victim," Judge Yogesh Khanna pronounced, the AFP news agency reported. Arguments ahead of sentencing will begin on Wednesday morning, he said.
The case sparked a national debate on the treatment of women. New laws introduced in March prescribed the death penalty - which is carried out very rarely in India - in cases of rape that cause death or leave the victim in a vegetative state.
On August 31 a teenager found guilty of taking part in the rape in Delhi was sentenced to three years in a reform facility, the maximum term possible because the crime was committed when he was 17. He also denied all the charges.
Another suspect, Ram Singh, was found dead in his cell in March. Prison officials said they believed he hanged himself but his family alleged he was murdered.
