Gang rape trial begins as father urges hangings

Five men have gone on trial over the fatal gang rape of a student on a bus in Delhi as the victim’s father urged the fast-track court to deliver swift justice and sentence her attackers to death by hanging.

With the case being held behind closed doors and subject to a gagging order, it was left to one of the prosecutors to announce the start of the case to reporters packed outside the court in New Delhi.

“The trial has begun,” Dayan Krishnan said.

“The charge sheet has been submitted before the judge and the arguments will begin on Jan 24.”

The father of the 23-year-old victim said her family would rest only once the culprits were convicted and hanged, and he urged judge Yogesh Khanna to complete his work quickly.

“My daughter’s soul will only rest in peace after the court punishes the men,” the father said.

“It is the duty of the court and the judges to ensure that the final order to punish all the accused is handed down quickly and all the men are hanged.

“No man has the right to live after committing such a heinous crime.”

The assault last month on the medical student, who cannot be named for legal reasons, sparked mass protests across India — in particular in New Delhi which has been dubbed the “rape capital” of the country over the incidence of such attacks.

The five men accused face murder, rape, robbery, kidnapping, and other charges, with prosecutors expected to demand the death penalty. A sixth suspect, who claims he is 17, will be tried by a juvenile court.

Lawyers said they will plead not guilty and will accuse police of torturing the defendants — aged between 19 and 35.

The woman suffered massive intestinal injuries during the assault in which she was raped and violated with an iron bar. She died 13 days later after the government airlifted her to a Singapore hospital.