Indian policemen on patrol in Mumbai, on August 28, 2013/AFP
MUMBAI, Sep 19 – Mumbai police formally charged five men in court Thursday over the gang rape of a young photographer in the city last month, a case that reignited anger about women’s safety in India.
Four adult accused, arrested within days of the attack, appeared at the Esplanade Court in south Mumbai, barefooted and looking dishevelled. One wore a T-shirt and jeans while the rest were in shirts and trousers.
They were charged with at least five offences including gang rape, unnatural sex, illegal confinement, destruction of evidence and conspiracy over the attack on August 22.
Charges were also filed in a juvenile court against a fifth suspect, who was under 18 at the time of the offence, Mumbai police spokesman Satyanarayan Choudhary told AFP.
The 22 year old photographer was repeatedly raped while she was on assignment taking photos in an overgrown and abandoned mill compound in central Mumbai.
A male colleague accompanying her was beaten and tied up with a belt while she was assaulted and threatened with a broken beer bottle, police say.
After their arrests, police said the accused were all unemployed school drop outs, naming the adult suspects as Mohammed Salim Ansari, 27, Siraj Rehmat Khan, 24, Vijay Mohan Jadhav, 18 and Mohammed Kasim Hafeez Shaikh, also known as Kasim Bangali, aged 21.
The attack sparked outrage in the financial hub Mumbai, which has long been considered safer for women than the capital New Delhi, where the fatal gang-rape of a young student in December shook the nation.
After the Mumbai assault, the victim reported the case at a local police station and was admitted to hospital. She was discharged within a week.
She was quoted by The Times of India as saying “rape is not the end of life” and that she wanted to return to work. Her family in a statement said they were hopeful of the “severest of punishments” for those responsible.
The next hearing of the case, in which officials have promised swift justice, was set for Monday.
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