Amid chaos, court orders closed session for New Delhi gang rape suspects

New Delhi, India: Amid heated confrontations between lawyers, a New Delhi court on Monday ordered the appearance of five men accused in the shocking rape and killing of an Indian woman last month to take place behind closed doors.

The horrific attack on the 23-year-old woman in New Delhi on December 16 has prompted angry protests over the country's treatment of women and handling of sexual attacks. It also stirred worldwide outrage.

The suspects arrived Monday at the Metropolitan Magistrates' Court in the southern New Delhi district of Saket amid a tense atmosphere, tight security and a heavy news media presence. The men were there to hear the charges against them.

But tempers flared inside the packed courtroom before the suspects had even appeared, with some lawyers loudly criticizing the offer by a couple of their colleagues to represent the suspects.

"You will not defend those barbarians!" shouted one young lawyer, pointing his finger at Manohar Lal Sharma, one of those willing to represent the accused men. The local bar association last week vowed not to represent any of the suspects because of the nature of the crime they are accused of committing.

The magistrate, Namrita Aggarwal, asked everyone not connected with the case to leave the courtroom so she could call the suspects in. When none of them budged, she walked out of the room.

She returned a while later and ordered that the hearing take place behind closed doors. She also forbade the news media from publishing proceedings related to the case without the court's permission, citing concerns about the suspects' safety.

The magistrates' court was expected to transfer the case to a so-called "fast-track" court, several of which have been set up to expedite cases in a justice system bogged down by red tape.

Charges of murder, rape and kidnapping were filed against five of the accused men on Thursday. If convicted, they could receive the death penalty.

A juvenile court will take up the matter of determining the age of a sixth suspect in the attack, who claims to be 17 and therefore not old enough to be tried as an adult, CNN affiliate IBN reported.

The female victim of the attack, whose name has not been released, died late last month in a Singapore hospital, where she received treatment after being airlifted from New Delhi.

The men are accused of assaulting her and her male companion on a bus in the Indian capital on December 16, robbing them of their belongings before dumping them at the side of a road.

The 28-year-old male victim, who survived with a broken leg, said in an interview last week with the news agency Agence France-Presse that he and his friend had boarded the private bus to return home after seeing a movie.

But the driver of the bus made lewd remarks and five other men on board taunted the couple and locked the doors, the man said.

He said that he was beaten with a stick while the men raped his friend and hit her in the worst possible ways in the most private parts of her body. The driver used an iron bar in the attack, he told the news agency.

In a separate interview with the news agency Reuters, the man said their abductors drove the couple throughout the city for about two hours before dropping them below an overpass; he was unable to stand and had no clothes.

He said that they received no help "for nearly 20 or 25 minutes," and that when three police vehicles finally did show up, the officers argued among themselves about which police precinct had jurisdiction.

The case appears to have prompted changes in New Delhi law enforcement.

India's interior minister has ordered the city's police stations to increase the number of women officers to facilitate the handling of complaints from women.

Interior Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said last week that each police station in Delhi should have 10 women constables and two women subinspectors.

The interior minister said he was also working with security officials to strengthen laws regarding rape and assault.

The brother of the woman killed in the attack said Sunday that their family would like to see a new hospital named after her to keep her memory alive.

He told CNN by phone from eastern India that the family's home village, located in a underdeveloped region, still doesn't have a well-equipped health care center.

"It will be really good if our village gets a hospital in her name. That will keep her memory alive and serve a cause," said the 20-year-old, who asked not to be named.

The rape victim was the eldest of three siblings, with two younger brothers. A physiotherapy student, she was expecting an internship at a hospital in the Indian capital in January.

"After her internship, she would have got a job. And that would have been a great help to our family," said the brother, himself a student.

The family is still struggling with the traumatic loss, he said, and feels that recent protests in several Indian cities in response to the attack are justified.

"You need these protests to bring about a change in laws. And laws should be made so tough that nobody should even think of committing such crimes. Rapists deserve death sentence," he said

Delhi court hears of forensic evidence in India rape case

The pre-trial hearing was held at the District Court in the Saket area of the Indian capital. The judge ordered the five to appear before her on Monday. A sixth suspect is expected to be tried as a juvenile. The woman, 23, died last weekend. Her friend has been recalling the harrowing details of the attack on a bus.

The man, who has not been named, told Zee News how he and the victim had boarded the bus and paid a fare, before he was beaten unconscious by men on board, who then attacked her.
'Robbed items'

Prosecutor Rajiv Mohan told Magistrate Namrita Aggarwal that DNA tests confirmed by the Central Forensic Science Laboratory had shown that blood stains found on the clothing of all of the accused had matched the blood of the victim.

Mr Mohan also cited records from the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore, where the woman died, which said death was caused by septicaemia and multiple-organ failure. The five accused, aged between 19 and 35, are charged with rape, abduction and murder, and could face the death penalty if convicted. They include the driver of the bus.

The prosecutor also said items robbed from the victim had been recovered from the accused.

The magistrate said: "[The suspects] will be produced in court on Monday."

A following hearing was set for 10 January. Protesters gathered outside the court in Saket, carrying a banner demanding justice for the victim.

Police 'argued'

The friend of the woman who died has given his first interview since the incident. The man, who has not been named, told Zee News he and the rape victim had boarded the bus after a trip to the cinema and after failing to flag down an auto-rickshaw.

He said the bus had tinted windows, and that he believed the group of men had laid a trap for them.

"We tried to resist them. Even my friend fought with them, she tried to save me," he said. "She tried to dial the police control room number 100, but the accused snatched her mobile away. "I tried to fight against the men but later I begged them again and again to leave her."

He confirmed earlier reports that the assailants had thrown them off the bus and tried to run them over. The friend said he had tried to get help from passers-by and motorists.

"They slowed down, looked at our naked bodies and left," he said.

And he also criticised the authorities, accusing them of being slow to arrive, then arguing over jurisdiction, and eventually taking them to the wrong hospital.

"My friend was bleeding profusely. But instead of taking us to a nearby hospital, they [police] took us to a hospital that was far away," he said.

Delhi Police on Saturday denied its officers were late in arriving. A statement said the first vehicle had arrived within four minutes of the distress call, left the scene with the victims within another three minutes and reached Safdarjung Hospital within another 24. The BBC's Andrew North, in Delhi, says the case continues to put Indian life under a sharp magnifying glass, and for many people it is uncomfortable viewing.

Meanwhile, police have opened an investigation into whether Zee News broke broadcasting laws relating to disclosure of the victim's identity. The victim's friend was not named but his face was shown. Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat told AFP news agency that a case had been filed against the broadcaster. The case has caused a national outcry, and there have been frequent protests calling for greater protection for women.