Delhi gang-rape: Four accused convicted for rape, murder

Zee Media Bureau/ Deepak Nagpal

New Delhi: A fast-track court here on Tuesday pronounced four accused guilty in the 2012 December 16 Delhi gang-rape case. Of the total six accused, the prime conspirator – Ram Singh – had earlier this year killed himself in jail, while a minor accused was on August 31 sentenced to three years in a special home by the Juvenile Justice Board. The 23-year-old trainee physiotherapist was lured by the six onto a bus on December 16 last year, where they raped and tortured her with a metal bar. Here are today`s developments in the case:

Defence lawyer A P Singh says they will challenge the verdict in a higher court. Also Read: Delhi gang-rape: The men who shamed India

Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde says under the new tough anti-rape laws, the guilty will surely be hanged. Also Read: Rape convicts will be hanged in future cases: Shinde

Court praises Delhi Police for the scientific manner in which they conducted the probe.

Silent protest held outside the Saket court where the judgement was announced.

The court convicted the four by relying on the victim`s dying declaration and forensic evidence.

The court will pronounce the quantum of punishment tomorrow, at around 11 am. Also Read: Delhi gang-rape: Verdict politically motivated, says defence counsel

The court convicts the four for 13 offences including gang-rape, unnatural offence, murder, dacoity, conspiracy, kidnapping and destruction of evidence.

The fast-track court holds guilty four accused - Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur, Pawan and Mukesh – for their involvement in the December 16 Delhi gang-rape.

The court is expected to deliver its verdict at 12:30 pm.

The parents of the victim have also arrived in the court. Also Read: Delhi gang-rape case: Family demands death for the accused

A Delhi Police van carrying the four adult accused has arrived at the Saket District Court complex, where a fast-track court will deliver the verdict today.

The victim`s parents tell a news channel that nothing less than death penalty for the fourth accused would bring a closure for them. Earlier this month, the court had concluded the trial in the case, which has been followed not just in India but the world over. Also Read: December 16 Delhi gang-rape case - Timeline The accused, including the bus driver who hanged himself in jail earlier this year, had pleaded not guilty to attacking and killing the woman. Two of the four accused had said they were at a party at the time, while another said he was in his native village in the eastern state of Bihar, court documents show. The fourth admitted he was driving the bus on the night of the attack, but said he did not see or hear anything as the lights were switched off. The case had ignited huge protests across the nation, with the protesters in the national capital marching upto the Rashtrapati Bhavan and clashing with police in scenes not witnessed for decades. The case and subsequent protests forced the government to bring in tougher anti-rape law and the judiciary is currently hearing a petition seeking to review the term `juvenile` and lower the age bar to be treated as a juvenile. New laws brought in by the government prescribe death penalty in cases where the rape victim dies or is left in a vegetative state. The laws also prescribed penalties for stalking, groping, voyeurism and acid attacks.