Trial begins in Manipal gang-rape case, next hearing on Oct 28
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi
Udupi, Sep 21: The trial in the sensational Manipal gang-rape case began on Saturday September 21 in the district and sessions court here, three months after the incident took place on June 20 night.
The three main accused Yogish, Anand and Hariprasad, along with two others accused Harindra and Balachandra were produced in the court.
Judge B M Angadi gave the prosecution time until October 28, 2013 to prove the charges in the chargesheet, based on the request of public prosecutor T S Jituri.
Mangalore-based lawyer Purushottam Poojary is the defence counsel for all the five accused.
Speaking to reporters, advocate Jituri said that it was not possible to predict the quantum of punishment at this point of time if charges are proved.
The defence lawyer said that the charges against the fourth and fifth accused in the case (Balachandra and Harindra) are trivial but the judge has refused to grant them bail. "Their bail petition is now pending in the high court and I am confident that they will be granted bail," he said.
Yogish, Anand and Hariprasad were arrested after a week of intense search following the gang-rape of a Manipal University student from Kerala on June 20 this year. Yogish's brother Balachandra and Hariprasad's brother Harindra were arrested later for allegedly destroying evidence. The police had filed a chargesheet against the three accused on August 22.
While Yogish, Anand and Hariprasad were lodged in Shimoga jail for security reasons, the other two were in Hiriadka jail. The case had drawn nation-wide media attention, and there were protests and demands for justice from various quarters. It even prompted the state government to take stringent measures to boost security for girls in colleges and order trial of sexual harassment cases in fast track courts.
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