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| Anger in Delhi slums as gang-rape accused face death penalty | Anger in Delhi slums as gang-rape accused face death penalty |
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| The men's homes are a few dozen metres apart. From that of Vinay Sharma, a narrow lane leads to the single room where the Guptas live. Just to the right, by a sign advertising a well-known brand of spicy snack, an alley branches off, down to where Ram and Mukesh Singh once lived. | The men's homes are a few dozen metres apart. From that of Vinay Sharma, a narrow lane leads to the single room where the Guptas live. Just to the right, by a sign advertising a well-known brand of spicy snack, an alley branches off, down to where Ram and Mukesh Singh once lived. |
| Ram Singh hanged himself in prison in March – the first of the men alleged to be responsible for the gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old physiotherapist in Delhi last December to die. The attack prompted global outrage and an intense debate in India about the apparently steeply rising rates of violence against women that have accompanied the country's recent economic growth. | Ram Singh hanged himself in prison in March – the first of the men alleged to be responsible for the gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old physiotherapist in Delhi last December to die. The attack prompted global outrage and an intense debate in India about the apparently steeply rising rates of violence against women that have accompanied the country's recent economic growth. |
| This week the six-month trial of four men who, prosecutors say, joined Ram Singh in the brutal assault will end. There is little chance of any verdict other than guilty and the death sentence appears inevitable. In Ravi Das camp, a slum "colony" in the south of Delhi where most of the defendants lived at the time of the attack, there is resignation, fear and much anger. | This week the six-month trial of four men who, prosecutors say, joined Ram Singh in the brutal assault will end. There is little chance of any verdict other than guilty and the death sentence appears inevitable. In Ravi Das camp, a slum "colony" in the south of Delhi where most of the defendants lived at the time of the attack, there is resignation, fear and much anger. |
| "Now our name is linked to these people. But this is a good neighbourhood. The kids all go to school. No one breaks the law," said Kalawati, 40, a housewife who says she has "grown old" in the colony. | "Now our name is linked to these people. But this is a good neighbourhood. The kids all go to school. No one breaks the law," said Kalawati, 40, a housewife who says she has "grown old" in the colony. |
| Ram, 34, and Mukesh Singh, 26, were known troublemakers, locals say. They did not harass girls in the neighbourhood – the presence of fathers and brothers would have made it unwise – but did elsewhere. They drank heavily too. | Ram, 34, and Mukesh Singh, 26, were known troublemakers, locals say. They did not harass girls in the neighbourhood – the presence of fathers and brothers would have made it unwise – but did elsewhere. They drank heavily too. |
| But the other two from the camp – Sharma, 20, and Pawan Gupta, 19 – were of a different stamp. Both have claimed to be innocent during their trial. | But the other two from the camp – Sharma, 20, and Pawan Gupta, 19 – were of a different stamp. Both have claimed to be innocent during their trial. |
| When Champa Sharma saw her son in prison late last week, he implored her to help him. "He was crying. He said: 'Mum, mum, do something. Get me out of here. I never did anything wrong. I don't understand what is happening to me'," the 37-year-old told the Observer. | When Champa Sharma saw her son in prison late last week, he implored her to help him. "He was crying. He said: 'Mum, mum, do something. Get me out of here. I never did anything wrong. I don't understand what is happening to me'," the 37-year-old told the Observer. |
| Yet witness statements given by other defendants, phone records and DNA evidence all indicate that Sharma was at least present on the bus on which the attack took place, at the time when the victim and her male friend were assaulted. The woman was raped repeatedly, bitten, beaten and assaulted before being dumped in a roadside layby. She died later of massive internal injuries. Sharma and the other men were arrested within days in or around Ravi Das colony. | Yet witness statements given by other defendants, phone records and DNA evidence all indicate that Sharma was at least present on the bus on which the attack took place, at the time when the victim and her male friend were assaulted. The woman was raped repeatedly, bitten, beaten and assaulted before being dumped in a roadside layby. She died later of massive internal injuries. Sharma and the other men were arrested within days in or around Ravi Das colony. |
| "He was a good boy. He worked hard at school. He wanted to do better for himself and for us," said Champa. | "He was a good boy. He worked hard at school. He wanted to do better for himself and for us," said Champa. |
| The Sharmas are among the poorest in Ravi Das colony, itself a corner of poverty in an upmarket part of a booming city. The family of six live in one tiny room. | |
| Their story mirrors that of the victim. The parents moved from a rural area to the city to find work, managed to get a small plot of land and built a ramshackle home that they improved from year to year. Sharma's father works intermittently as a labourer at Delhi's international airport – as does the father of the victim, who cannot be named under Indian law. Sharma was the first member of his family to speak English and to study for a degree. | |
| He was working at a gym and half his monthly earnings of 4,000 rupees (£38) went on fees for a distance learning course in commerce. The rest funded medicine for his diabetic younger sister. The victim taught and worked in a call centre to fund her studies and help the family finances. | |
| On the night of the attack, police say, Sharma joined the others from the camp, and a 17-year-old sentenced to three years in a juvenile reform centre eight days ago, on a "joyride" on the bus that Ram Singh drove for a living. The woman was tricked into boarding and then attacked. | On the night of the attack, police say, Sharma joined the others from the camp, and a 17-year-old sentenced to three years in a juvenile reform centre eight days ago, on a "joyride" on the bus that Ram Singh drove for a living. The woman was tricked into boarding and then attacked. |
| The wave of public revulsion and anger in India prompted by the incident has had some effect, campaigners said. "There is certainly more debate. There's a change in the vocabulary used and police are much more alert. And younger women today are not going to go back to the previous time when they would just stay silent," said Vrinda Grover, a lawyer and human rights activist. | The wave of public revulsion and anger in India prompted by the incident has had some effect, campaigners said. "There is certainly more debate. There's a change in the vocabulary used and police are much more alert. And younger women today are not going to go back to the previous time when they would just stay silent," said Vrinda Grover, a lawyer and human rights activist. |
| Jason Temasfieldt, who launched a campaign against harassment of women in India's commercial capital of Mumbai after his cousin was stabbed to death after intervening to try to protect a female friend, said he had seen a "drastic change" in terms of awareness. | Jason Temasfieldt, who launched a campaign against harassment of women in India's commercial capital of Mumbai after his cousin was stabbed to death after intervening to try to protect a female friend, said he had seen a "drastic change" in terms of awareness. |
| But few doubt the difficulty of changing traditions. Last week a council in the western state of Rajasthan ordered the parents of a six-year-old rape victim to marry her to the eight-year-old son of the 40-year-old man accused of the rape. | But few doubt the difficulty of changing traditions. Last week a council in the western state of Rajasthan ordered the parents of a six-year-old rape victim to marry her to the eight-year-old son of the 40-year-old man accused of the rape. |
| Every day newspapers publish reports of gang-rapes, acid attacks or burnings of women. "The mindset has not changed," said Professor Reicha Tanwar, an expert in violence against women in India. | Every day newspapers publish reports of gang-rapes, acid attacks or burnings of women. "The mindset has not changed," said Professor Reicha Tanwar, an expert in violence against women in India. |
| Sharma's mother is unaware that her son is likely to be sentenced to death by hanging. "I miss my boy. I trust in God. He has given me all that I have and I am grateful," she said. | Sharma's mother is unaware that her son is likely to be sentenced to death by hanging. "I miss my boy. I trust in God. He has given me all that I have and I am grateful," she said. |
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