New Delhi:
The men were convicted on 13 counts which included destruction of evidence.
Lawyers said that the student's testimony, given in hospital before she died, and forensic evidence established their guilt.
Here are 10 big developments in this story:
Two of the men had argued they were not guilty and said they were not on the bus on which the savage crime was committed on December 16. Their lawyer has said they will appeal against Tuesday's judgement in a higher court.
Arguments for the sentencing of the men - fruit seller Pawan Gupta, bus cleaner Akshay Kumar Singh, gym instructor Vinay Sharma and Mukesh Singh, an unemployed man - will begin today.
The parents of Mukesh Singh,left the crowded court in tears and his mother threw herself at the feet of one of the lawyers, sobbing. His lawyer VK Anand, told reporters: "My client was simply driving the bus. He confessed fairly that he was driving the bus but he did not know what went on inside."
The student's parents have said the men must be hanged.
Defence lawyers told reporters that the verdict has been greatly influenced by public and political pressure.
The case became an international headline and ignited a public demand for better safety for women in India.
The woman and her male friend were lured onto a bus by five men and a juvenile, prosecutors argued during the trial. The woman was repeatedly raped, and both she and her companion were severely beaten before being dumped on a road.
The woman, a trainee physiotherapist, died in a Singapore hospital two weeks after the December 16 attack.
One of the five men committed suicide in prison earlier this year, and the teenager was sentenced to three years in juvenile detention last month.
The trial was held in-camera or behind closed doors in a fast-track court; the verdict was delivered in seven months.
Post a comment