Delhi gang rape: Juvenile accused convicted for dacoity

The Juvenile Justice Board has held the minor guilty of illegally confining and robbing a carpenter on December 16 night before allegedly participating in the gang rape of a 23-year-old girl in a moving bus in New Delhi.

The carpenter, Ramadhar, was lured into the same bus before the girl and her male friend boarded it in south Delhi.

Sources in the prosecution has said the JJB Board, presided over by Principal Magistrate Geetanjali Goel, has convicted the juvenile under section 395 (dacoity), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 412 (dishonestly receiving property stolen in the commission of a dacoity) of the IPC.

They said that the minor, however, was acquitted under section 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person and 394 (voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery) of the IPC.

The board will pronounce its sentence on July 25. On the same day it has also fixed for the final judgement in another case lodged for the gang rape of a woman physiotherapy intern in a moving bus here by six persons on the night of December 16, last year.

The murder charge was slapped after the victim died on December 29 in a Singapore hospital.

Besides the juvenile, the four adult accused-- Mukesh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur--are being tried by a special fast track court.

However, proceedings against fifth and key accused Ram Singh abated after his death on March 11 when he was found hanging in his cell in Tihar Jail.

The other four accused are also being tried for robbing carpenter Ramadhar on the fateful night.

During the inquiry, the juvenile had denied all charges, claiming he was not a participant in the horrendous crime.

The juvenile, an Uttar Pradesh native, had moved to Delhi when he was 11-year-old and had taken up menial jobs. During the trial, the juvenile's counsel had contended that there was no medical evidence to connect him with the charges and no finger prints could be detected in the bus to show his complicity.

Sources further said the juvenile was solely convicted relying on the testimony of Ramadhar, who appearing as a prosecution witness had identified the minor as one among the six who had robbed and assaulted him on the December 16 night.

They also said that the recovery of mobile phone from the juvenile is false.

Earlier, during recording of his deposition in the special court, Ramadhar had identified the four adult accused and stood by his statement that it was they who had committed the offence.

He had said he had boarded the bus for Khanpur but the moment one among the six persons said that it will be going to some other destination, he tried to get off but the accused stopped him and asked Mukesh to drive it fast.

He had said that the accused were the same persons who had robbed and caused "injuries to me and later pushed in a manner that I would come under the wheels".