New Delhi gang-rape trial to begin Thursday amid debate on justice

NEW DELHI (AP) – The trial of five men accused of the rape and murder of a student aboard a bus in New Delhi will begin on Thursday and should have none of the long delays commonly associated with India’s justice system, a defence lawyer said after a brief hearing on Monday.

Judge Yogesh Khanna denied a defence motion to make the proceedings public, ruling that the courtroom must remain closed because of the sensitive nature of the crime, said
Mr V.K. Anand, lawyer for one of the defendants, Ram Singh.

The extreme brutality of the attack has sparked weeks of protests and focused national and international attention on India’s rarely discussed crisis of violence against women. Monday’s hearing was the first since the case was moved to a new fast-track court set up to deal specifically with crimes against women.

The five defendants’ faces were covered by woolen scarves as they arrived in court, surrounded by a phalanx of police. A sixth suspect in the attack claims to be a juvenile and
his case is being handled separately.