Suspects to appear at India gang rape hearing

NEW DELHI (AP) – The cases of five men charged in the fatal gang rape of a young woman on a moving New Delhi bus were expected to be shifted to a fast-track court at a hearing Monday, defence lawyers said.

The hearing had been set for last week but was rescheduled when it turned out that the official list of charges was not completely legible.

Five men have been charged with the December 16 attack on the 23-year-old student, who died two weeks later in a Singapore hospital. A sixth suspect, who says he is 17 years old, is likely to be tried in a juvenile court if medical tests confirm he is a minor.

The attack outraged Indians, leading to massive protests and calls for tougher rape laws.

In a nation where court cases often linger for years, India’s government set up a special fast-track court earlier this month to deal with crimes against women.

On Sunday, police said they had arrested six suspects in another gang rape of a bus passenger in India.

Police officer Raj Jeet Singh said a 29-year-old woman was the only passenger on a bus as she was travelling to her village in northern Punjab state on Friday night. The driver refused to stop at her village despite her repeated pleas and drove her to a desolate location, he said.

There, the driver and the conductor took her to a building where they were joined by five friends and took turns raping her throughout the night, Singh said.

The driver dropped the woman off at her village early Saturday, he said.

Singh said police arrested six suspects on Saturday and were searching for another.

Gurmej Singh, deputy superintendent of police, said all six admitted involvement in the rape. He said the victim was recovering at home.