NEW DELHI
The Indian Juvenile Justice Board ruled Monday that one suspect in the recent fatal gang rape of a young woman on a moving bus is officially a juvenile, which could result in a lenient sentence if he is found guilty of the crime.
The teenager, who school records show is 17 years old, could receive a maximum sentence of three years in a detention facility if found guilty. Five other men accused of the premeditated rape and killing of a 23-year old physiotherapy student on Dec. 16 could face life imprisonment or the death penalty if found guilty.
The December gang rape and the victim’s subsequent death of injuries sustained during the rape prompted widespread protests in India over the lack of safety and justice for women, and calls for the rapists to be executed.
Some criminal and legal experts expected the juvenile to be forced to undergo a bone ossification test, which is sometimes used to determine age in India where birth records are not always accurate. But the juvenile board’s ruling Monday makes that unlikely.
Separately, the judge in a fast-track court set up to try the five men accused in the Delhi gang rape on Monday rejected a plea by one suspect, Vinay Sharma, that he take a bone ossification test in order to prove his age, to prove he is a juvenile. Mr. Sharma’s mother told India Ink earlier this month that he was born in March 1994, which would make him 18, or legally an adult.
Lawyers for the five suspects on Monday began their arguments on the framing of charges against the men. They are jointly facing 14 charges, including robbery, murder, kidnapping and gang rape.
V.K. Anand, the lawyer for two of five suspects, brothers Ram and Mukesh Singh, argued on Monday that a majority of the charges against his clients should be dropped. The fast-track court, in the Saket District Court Complex, meets again Tuesday at noon.
India Ink: One Delhi Gang Rape Suspect Is Ruled a Minor
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India Ink: One Delhi Gang Rape Suspect Is Ruled a Minor
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India Ink: One Delhi Gang Rape Suspect Is Ruled a Minor
