DHAKA: The four men accused of the gang rape of a young woman were found guilty on Tuesday by a fast-track court in a case that triggered a national outcry over the safety of women in the country.

Mukesh Singh, 26, Pawan Gupta, 19, Vinay Sharma, 20, and Akshay Thakur, 28, were convicted of a dozen charges that included rape, murder, kidnapping and robbery.

‘I convict all the accused. They have been found guilty of gang rape, unnatural offences, destruction of evidence...and for committing the murder of the helpless victim,’ said Judge Yogesh Khanna.

The four accused stood in one corner of the small courtroom, surrounded by policemen and just a short distance away from the victim’s parents, who have been demanding nothing less than the death penalty.

The parents had tears in their eyes as the judge gave the verdicts in the most-watched trial in India.

The fast-track court will hear arguments from the prosecution and the defence on Wednesday and could hand down the sentences, the maximum of which is the death penalty.

Defence lawyer AP Singh maintained that the verdict has been delivered under pressure.

‘There was political pressure...I will appeal the case in the high court,’ he said, reports The Straits Times.

BDST: 1715 HRS, SEPT 10, 2013
RoR/GCP