Anindito Mukherjee/European Pressphoto Agency The Saket court complex, where the five adults accused in the Delhi gang rape case are facing trial. The male friend who witnessed the fatal rape of a young woman by a group of attackers in New Delhi in December entered court in a wheelchair to testify on Tuesday.
The man, a 28-year old software engineer whose name has not been released, was injured in the same attack and has been forced to use a wheelchair ever since. He is the prosecution’s top witness, and his testimony and a statement the victim gave before she died are considered crucial to the case against the five men chrged in the attack.
The men have been charged with rape, kidnapping and murder, and they could face the death penalty if found guilty.
Five witnesses were summoned to court Tuesday, although the male friend was the only one who testified, one of the defense lawyers for the suspects, A. P. Singh said. The other witnesses will testify Wednesday. The male companion will also be cross-examined then, he said.
In his testimony Tuesday, the male friend identified the suspects and the bus on which the attack occurred, Mr. Singh said.
Delhi Police also filed Tuesday a supplementary charge sheet, which included the postmortem of the rape victim, who died in a Singapore hospital on Dec. 29. She died two weeks after the attack, which sparked protests across the country. Over the weekend, the government approved tough new laws against sexual assault.
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