Mumbai gang-rape: No minor among accused, confirms police

Zee Media Bureau Mumbai: Mumbai Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh on Monday confirmed that none of the accused in the Mumbai gang-rape case is a juvenile and all of them are locals. “There are no juveniles among the accused. All are uneducated, jobless and had earlier indulged in theft...all the accused are born and brought up in Mumbai,”” he said. In view of claims by family of some accused that they are minors, the police commissioner said bone ossification test would be conducted to ascertain their age, if needed. He added that the biggest challenge is to collect evidence and file chargesheet and stressed that the police will try to get maximum punishment for the accused. Singh said that the mobile phone that was used to shoot pictures of the shameful act has also been seized. “All the scientific evidence has been collected, mobile phone has also been seized...only one photo was clicked but it is no longer available but we will retrieve it,” he said. Maharashtra government said that the case will be tried in a fast-track court to ensure speedy justice to the victim. Noted criminal lawyer Ujjwal Nikam will appear as public prosecutor in the case. All the five accused - Mohammed Kasim Hafiz Shaikh alias Kasim Bengali, Siraj Rehman Khan, Salim Ansari, Chand Babu Sattar Shaikh, Vijay Jadhav - have been booked under various sections of IPC such as 376(D) (rape), 342 (wrongful confinement), 506(2) (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention). The 23-year-old photojournalist was gang-raped in the premises of the defunct Shakti Mills Compound near Mahalaxmi station where she had gone along with a male colleague on an official assignment to shoot pictures on August 22 evening. The horrific crime brought back painful memories of the Delhi gang-rape case. Like last year, the Mumbai incident has once again triggered massive outrage in the country.