INDIA: Advocate for one accused in Delhi rape case says his client threatens suicide as he is being kept in solitary confinement
Record ID:
1377203
INDIA: Advocate for one accused in Delhi rape case says his client threatens suicide as he is being kept in solitary confinement
- Title: INDIA: Advocate for one accused in Delhi rape case says his client threatens suicide as he is being kept in solitary confinement
- Date: 29th January 2013
- Summary: NEW DELHI, INDIA (JANUARY 29, 2013) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI-NO ACCESS BBC) EXTERIOR OF THE DISTRICT COURT WHERE FIVE OF THE SIX ACCUSED ARE BEING TRIED 'DISTRICT COURT SAKET' WRITTEN ON THE BUILDING (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) LAWYER REPRESENTING TWO OF THE SIX PEOPLE ACCUSED IN THE RAPE CASE, A. P. SINGH, SAYING: "An application has been given to me by the accused Vinay Sharma that he is being kept in solitary confinement. Firstly, he is already scared, worried and sad and then he has to come to the court daily and listen to the accusations levied against him. So he wants to be moved out of the solitary confinement or else he might just commit suicide." EXTERIOR OF THE DISTRICT COURT POLICEMEN DEPLOYED AT THE ENTRANCE GATE OF THE COURT (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) LAWYER REPRESENTING TWO OF THE SIX PEOPLE ACCUSED IN THE RAPE CASE, A. P. SINGH, SAYING: "Respecting everyone's emotions regarding this case, and considering the time of the honourable judge and the public prosecutor, I will finish my brief argument in short tomorrow. So that the honourable judge can frame the charges under the appropriate section." CROWD OF PEOPLE IN THE COURT PREMISES
- Embargoed: 13th February 2013 20:49
- Keywords:
- Location: India
- Country: India
- Topics: Crime
- Reuters ID: LVA5ODYLM7L75WLT4W511MASOLJM
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
- Story Text: The defense counsel for two of the six accused in the barbaric bus rape case that stunned the nation and caused massive protests said on Tuesday (January 29) that one his client, Vinay Sharma has threatened to commit suicide as he is being kept in solitary confinement.
A 23-year-old was raped by six people and tortured with an iron bar on a bus, then left bleeding on a highway on the night of December 16, 2012, which stunned the nation and generated an unprecedented wave of protests calling for better security for women.
In the case, because the woman died of her injuries, the five accused have been charged with murder and face the death penalty if found guilty. The victim died of massive organ damage in a Singapore hospital two weeks after the attack.
The case is being taken up by a specially constituted fast track session's court.
Speaking to mediapersons outside the court, advocate A. P. Singh, the defense counsel for Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur, said his had submitted an application, which stated that Sharma was thinking of committing suicide, if he was not transferred back to the general inmates.
"An application has been given to me by the accused Vinay Sharma that he is being kept in solitary confinement. Firstly, he is already scared, worried and sad and then he has to come to the court daily and listen to the accusations levied against him. So he wants to be moved out of the solitary confinement or else he might just commit suicide," said A. P. Singh.
Prosecutors say a DNA investigation of bloodstained clothes and body swabs has linked all five men and a juvenile accused of the gang rape and murder of to the crime, providing evidence the prosecution claims will be enough to convict them.
They say their case will also hinge on cell phone records and on testimony from the dying woman and a male companion who was attacked with her.
However, the case against the men may not be open and shut in a country where shoddy forensic practices are one of the chief reasons for a low conviction rate in rape trials.
A. P. Singh also said that he would complete his arguments in the special court on Wednesday (January 30), so that charges can be framed against the accused.
"Respecting everyone's emotions regarding this case, and considering the time of the honourable judge and the public prosecutor, I will finish my brief argument in short tomorrow. So that the honourable judge can frame the charges under the appropriate section," A. P. Singh added.
New Delhi has the highest number of sex crimes among India's major cities, with a rape reported on average every 18 hours, according to police figures. Government data show the number of reported rape cases in the country rose by nearly 17 percent between 2007 and 2011.
India's criminal justice system is widely seen to have failed women who are sexually assaulted. One woman is raped every 20 minutes in India, according to government statistics, but the conviction rate is among the lowest in the world and one of the key reasons is lack of proper investigation. - Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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