Young Indian rape suspect held alone for own safety, says he's innocent

NEW DELHI (REUTERS) - Behind a barbed wire-topped wall by a busy New Delhi highway a teenager sits alone in a locked room, accused of taking part in a gang rape that first sparked nationwide protests and now a debate over whether Indian law is too lenient on juveniles.

Police allege the youth and five men lured a 23-year-old trainee physiotherapist and her male friend onto a bus where they repeatedly raped her and beat her with a metal bar before tossing the bleeding couple onto a road. The woman died of internal injuries two weeks later.

Reuters has learned that officials at a juvenile detention facility in Delhi have taken the unusual step of keeping the teenager isolated from other detainees for his own safety.

They say the brutality of the attack angered the other inmates, some of whom have been convicted of murder.