Gang Rape Accused Hopes to Join Indian Air Force

European Pressphoto Agency Vinay Sharma, one of the accused in the Delhi gang rape case, hopes to take the exam for a clerical position in the Indian Air Force.

NEW DELHI â€"Vinay Sharma, one of the six defendants in the Delhi gang rape case, has asked the court to let him take a written selection exam for the Indian Air Force this Sunday as he still hopes to join the military branch’s clerical department.

“I have already applied for a two-day interim bail for my client to write the exam,” said A.P. Singh, Mr. Sharma’s lawyer, in a telephone interview. “He has got an admit card for the test, and I am confident that the judge will allow him bail. I believe in education for all.”

But does Mr. Sharma qualify

When India Ink checked the Air Force Web site, it clearly said that a prospective candidate “should not have been arrested, convicted or prosecuted on criminal charges.”

Wing Cmdr. Gerard Galway, the public relations officer for the Indian Air Force, said that because Mr. Sharma applied for the job well before he was arrested, he is not technically breaking any rules.

“He will be appointed for the job only if all the charges against him are quashed and if a full police verification gives him a clean chit,” the wing commander told India Ink over the telephone.

Mr. Sharma, four other men and one juvenile are facing murder and robbery charges in the fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old woman on a moving bus in December. Mr. Sharma had applied for the Air Force C-grade clerical post last year before the crime occurred.

Saurabh Das/Associated Press A.P. Singh, the lawyer for Delhi gang rape accused Vinay Sharma, speaking to reporters outside the Saket district court complex in New Delhi on Jan. 21.

On Monday, Mr. Sharma petitioned the judge overseeing the trial, Yogesh Khanna, for a nutritious diet that included fruit and milk to help him “study well.” He has also asked for newspapers and magazines as he expects the exam to contain general knowledge questions.

The judge responded to the application by asking Tihar Jail authorities to give their comments on the request. Sunil Gupta, the spokesman of Tihar Jail, said he had no knowledge of any such request.

Last week, the Tihar Jail authorities accepted Mr. Sharma’s request for a tutor to help him prepare for the exam, Firstpost reported.

“Under both international and domestic law, a person is considered innocent until he is convicted for a crime,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director of the Human Rights Watch. “Vinay Sharma is still on trial, but he will be disqualified from joining the Indian Air Force, even if he clears the exam, if he is found guilty.”

Meanwhile, on Friday, Mr. Sharma’s lawyer said his client had been assaulted inside the jail. “His right hand has been fractured, and it has been done maliciously by the attackers keeping in mind his intention to write the exam on Sunday,” Mr. Singh said in a phone interview.