Photo: Internet

Indian police on Thursday officially indicted five suspects accused of gang raping and beating a 23-year-old woman in New Delhi. The police have submitted a 1000-page document of indictments and evidence to Saket District court, south of New Delhi. The defendants, from 19 to 35 years old, did not appear in court, but the media was allowed to observe part of the trial process. In the police document, the most important pieces of evidence are the statements of the victim and her boyfriend, who was also beaten brutally. The court will appoint defense lawyers since all the lawyers in Saket District have declined to defend the accused. If found guilty, the five men will most likely be sentenced to death. The trial will resume on Saturday, hastened in light of the public’s indignation. On December 16, 2012, the victim- a medical student-was attacked by a group of men on a bus while she and boyfriend were on their way home. Several men beat and raped the woman and then threw her and her boyfriend out of the bus. The woman was treated in New Delhi and then Singapore, but died on December 29 of her injuries.