14 Mar 2014

Death sentences upheld for gang-rape killers

10:31 am on 14 March 2014

A court in India has upheld the death sentence given to four men convicted of the gang rape and murder of a student, a case which led to national uproar and new anti-rape laws.

The 23-year-old physiotherapy student was brutally attacked on a moving bus in December 2012 while returning home after watching a film and subsequently died of her injuries.

Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur and Pawan Gupta were found guilty last September.

A fifth adult suspect was found dead in his prison cell before he was tried, the BBC reports. The sixth member of the group, a juvenile at the time of the crime, is serving a three-year sentence.

On Thursday, Judges Reva Khetrapal and Pratibha Rani of the Delhi High Court upheld the four men's sentences, saying that the case fell in the "rarest of rare category".

Defence lawyers said earlier they would appeal to the Supreme Court if the death sentences remained in force.

Although India has tightened its anti-rape laws and society is more openly discussing cases of violence against women, correspondents say women across India still live with the daily fear of sexual assault and victims still often have to deal with police apathy.

(from left) Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma, Mukesh Singh and Pawan Gupta at an earlier court appearance.

(from left) Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma, Mukesh Singh and Pawan Gupta at an earlier court appearance. Photo: AFP