Delhi gangrape accused charged with dacoity in robbery case

New Delhi: The Delhi gangrape accused were on Friday charged in a separate case of robbing, which they allegedly committed a few hours before gangraping a 23-year-old girl in a moving bus on December 16, 2012.

During a closed-door proceeding, the Delhi Police filed its chargesheet against all the accused before Metropolitan Magistrate Akash Jain, who also took cognisance of the final report, court sources said. "Cognisance taken. To come for scrutiny of documents and consideration on March 28 RPT 28," the magistrate said.

According to sources, the chargesheet was filed for the offences punishable under various sections, including 395 (dacoity), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC. The six accused, bus driver Ram Singh, his brother Mukesh, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta, Akshay Singh and a juvenile, had allegedly robbed Ramadhar Singh, a vegetable seller, of his day's earnings after luring him into the bus.

According to sources, the proceedings against Ram Singh would be abated as he had allegedly committed suicide inside the Tihar Jail. The juvenile, who was acting as the conductor, has been named in this case but a separate chargesheet has already been filed against him before the Juvenile Justice Board.

The other four adult accused are also facing trial in the gangrape case before a fast-track court and they have pleaded not guilty to the charges framed against them. According to the police, Ramadhar, a resident of Sangam Vihar in south Delhi, was returning home from the RK Puram market when he was lured into the bus and robbed by the accused, who took away Rs 700 and a mobile phone from him.

Police had later on recovered the looted amount and the mobile phone from the accused. The tracking of this incident helped the cops in establishing the movement of all the six accused on that fateful day. They had allegedly pushed Ramadhar out of the bus near the IIT flyover on the evening of December 16 and then moved towards Munirka bus stand where the girl and her male friend were waiting for a public transport, it had said.