New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday concluded the recording of prosecution evidence in a robbery case in which four death row convicts of the December 16 gang-rape case are facing trial.
Additional Sessions Judge Daya Prakash has fixed the case for February 19 when the court would record the statement of four accused Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma, Mukesh and Pawan Gupta.
During the trial, the court has recorded the statements of 37 prosecution witnesses, including a carpenter, Ram Adhar, who was allegedly beaten up and robbed by the accused.
Meanwhile, accused Vinay today moved a plea before the court seeking directions to concerned authorities to conduct his ossification test to ascertain his age.
In the plea filed through advocate A P Singh, Vinay claimed that he was a juvenile at the time of his arrest and ossification test should be conducted to ascertain his age.
The court has asked the Delhi Police to file its response on the plea.
The accused are facing trial for allegedly beating up and robbing Ram Adhar before raping and assaulting a 23-year-old girl in a moving bus in south Delhi on December 16, 2012.
The court had on July 15 last year framed the charges of kidnapping and dacoity against the four accused.
The court has put on trial accused Akshay, Mukesh, Pawan and Vinay for the offences under various sections of the IPC, including sections 395 (dacoity) and 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine a person).
The police, in its 15-page charge sheet filed on March 15 in the robbery case, alleged bus driver Ram Singh, his brother Mukesh, Vinay, Pawan and Akshay, along with the uvenile, had snatched 35-year-old carpenter Ram Adhar`s mobile phone and Rs 1,500 after luring him into the bus.
The victim, who was gangraped by the men, died in a Singapore hospital on December 29. Key accused Ram Singh allegedly committed suicide in Tihar Jail on March 11 and proceedings against him have abated.
Besides them, a juvenile was also sentenced to three years in reform home in the gangrape and murder case by the Juvenile Justice Board. He was also held guilty in the robbery case.
