4 arrested, attempt to murder charge to be invoked

NEW DELHI, Dec 18:
Four men were arrested for allegedly raping and brutally assaulting a 23-year-old girl in a moving bus with police today saying that it will invoke attempt to murder charge against them and seek a fast-track trial for speedy justice.
The bus driver Ram Singh, who along with six others, allegedly gang raped the para-medical student on Sunday night, was today remanded in police custody for five days in by a Delhi court to allow his custodial interrogation.
The police told Metropolitan Magistrate Namrita Aggarwal that the other three arrested culprits, Ram Singh’s brother Mukesh, Vinay Sharma, an assistant gym instructor, and Pawan Gupta, a fruit seller, will be produced in court tomorrow.
Doctors at the Safdarjung Hospital, where the victim is being treated, said she had responded to the doctor’s call and raised her hands in the morning and even read something which the doctors wrote on a paper.
Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar told reporters that the girl was in a “serious condition” but was doing better than yesterday.
Dr B D Athani, Medical Superintendent of Safdarjung Hospital, said, “Her condition is better than yesterday. Her conscious level is much better than yesterday’s. She underwent a surgery on Sunday.”
The victim’s male friend, an engineer who objected the men making lewd remarks at the victim, was also beaten up during the incident, which led to widespread outrage in Parliament and outside and demand for death penalty for rapists.
Investigators said that they will seek a fast-track trial for speedy justice in the case as well as write a proposal to Union Home Ministry seeking laws for invoking death penalty for rapists.
The Police Commissioner said the driver of the chartered bus, which was not legally permitted to run on normal routes, his brother and two more people had been arrested, while a massive manhunt has been launched to nab the remaining two accused. He said the accused were on a “joyride”.
“Disturbed” over the gang-rape, the Delhi High Court assured women lawyers that it was looking into the “brazen” incident following a plea for a court-monitored probe. (PTI)