Indian rape suspects appear in fast-track court in New Delhi for trial

Five Indian men are due to appear January 21 before a fast-track court in New Delhi for the latest hearing. The proceedings against five accused men will be conducted by additional sessions judge Yogesh Khanna, who heads the fast-track court at the Saket court complex. They men were formally charged in court on 3 January with the gang rape and murder of a physiotherapy student in a case that has generated widespread anger about the government's inability to prevent violence against women. The December 16 attack on the 23-year-old student and a male companion provoked protests close to the seat of government in New Delhi and has fuelled a nationwide debate about the prevalence of sexual crime in India, where a rape is reported on average every 20 minutes. The woman died of her injuries in hospital in Singapore, where she had been taken for treatment. The five are accused of assaulting the woman on a bus in New Delhi, leaving her with such severe injuries that she died two weeks later. A sixth accused is under 18 and is due to be tried separately in a juvenile court.