Judge sends India rape case to fast track court
Source: Agencies |
January 18, 2013, Friday
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AN Indian magistrate ordered yesterday the trial of five men accused in the fatal gang rape of a young woman on a moving bus to be shifted to a special fast track court in New Delhi.
The brutal rape of the 23-year-old student last month set off protests in New Delhi and sparked a national debate about the treatment of women across India and the inability of law enforcement to protect them.
In an effort to address some of that criticism, the government set up five fast track courts in the capital in recent weeks to deal swiftly with crimes against women. Authorities were eager to move the case into one of those courts, which are designed to avoid the delays, incompetence and corruption that plague much of India's legal system.
Magistrate Namrita Aggarwal dealt with several procedural issues during a session yesterday morning, and then reconvened the court in the afternoon for a second session at which she ordered the transfer to a fast track court. The first hearing is to be held there next Monday.
A sixth suspect in the attack claims to be a juvenile and his case is being handled separately.
Police say the victim and a male friend were heading home from an evening movie when they boarded a bus, where they were attacked by the six assailants. The attackers beat the man and took turns raping the woman and penetrated her repeatedly with a metal bar, causing massive internal injuries, police said. The victims were eventually dumped on the roadside, and the woman died two weeks later in a Singapore hospital.
The attack focused attention on the little-discussed issue of sexual violence in a country where victims are often blamed for sexual attacks - by their families or authorities - and the shame of rape keeps many from reporting such attacks.
The brutal rape of the 23-year-old student last month set off protests in New Delhi and sparked a national debate about the treatment of women across India and the inability of law enforcement to protect them.
In an effort to address some of that criticism, the government set up five fast track courts in the capital in recent weeks to deal swiftly with crimes against women. Authorities were eager to move the case into one of those courts, which are designed to avoid the delays, incompetence and corruption that plague much of India's legal system.
Magistrate Namrita Aggarwal dealt with several procedural issues during a session yesterday morning, and then reconvened the court in the afternoon for a second session at which she ordered the transfer to a fast track court. The first hearing is to be held there next Monday.
A sixth suspect in the attack claims to be a juvenile and his case is being handled separately.
Police say the victim and a male friend were heading home from an evening movie when they boarded a bus, where they were attacked by the six assailants. The attackers beat the man and took turns raping the woman and penetrated her repeatedly with a metal bar, causing massive internal injuries, police said. The victims were eventually dumped on the roadside, and the woman died two weeks later in a Singapore hospital.
The attack focused attention on the little-discussed issue of sexual violence in a country where victims are often blamed for sexual attacks - by their families or authorities - and the shame of rape keeps many from reporting such attacks.
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