The ghastly misdeeds of the men who raped and brutally murdered a medical student on December 16, 2012 generated nationwide furore. While awaiting an appearance in court on March 11, 2013, the main accused Ram Singh committed suicide in the early hours of the morning. Here's a brief recap of what the men did on the horrific night:
The 5 accused: Ram Singh, his brother Mukesh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur
Offences under IPC: Murder, gangrape, attempt to murder, kidnapping, unnatural offences, dacoity, huring in committing robbery, destruction of evidence, criminal conspiracy, common intention.
Likely punishment if convicted: Death sentence
The proceedings against the sixth accused, a juvenile, will be conducted by the Juvenile Justice Board.
Source : IBNLive
The 5 accused and their misdeeds
Ram Singh
Role: Prime accused, he was the first to rape the 23-year-old woman
Pawan Gupta
Role: Assaulted the victim's friend, helped in throwing the couple off the bus
Mukesh Singh
Role: Younger brother of Ram Singh, assaulted the girl and later attempted to destroy the evidence
Vinay Sharma
Role: Brutally assaulted the victim's friend before sexually assaulting her. Held the girl's male friend as others beat him with an iron rod
Akshay Singh
Role: Sexually assaulted the victim
Source : IBNLive
6th accused: Juvenile, not named
Role: Police claim it was he who solicited the couple on the bus. He is also accused of raping the girl. According to the police, he raped the victim twice, once after she fell unconscious. He extracted her intestines with his bare hands and suggested she be thrown off the moving bus devoid of her clothes.
To be tried before the Juvenile Justice Board.
The maximum punishment he can be given under the Juvenile Justice Act is three years at a reformatory home.
Source : IBNLive
Chargesheet highlights
The chargesheet was filed on January 3, 2013.
Ram Singh, 33 years, was charged as the main accused and the 'director of a well thought-out and pre-planned conspiracy against the couple'.
The victim has been named as 'XYZ' throughout the 1260-page chargesheet - the operative part being 35 pages.
Ten separate charges were filed against the five adult accused, who were declared 'first-time sex offenders'.
Police have maintained that they were "surprised" at the "professionalism" with which the accused had acted throughout the gory episode and attempted to destruct the evidence.
The case will be heard in a fast-track court set up in the Saket court complex in Delhi.
