Delhi gang rape accused family resigned to fate as trial verdict nears

The family of one of the accused in the brutal Delhi gangrape case that triggered nationwide outrage said Monday that they have left everything to the law.

The landmark verdict is expected to be pronounced by the court against the four accused on Tuesday.

The accused gang-raped a trainee-physiotherapist on a moving bus in New Delhi on December 16, 2012. The victim succumbed to her injuries in a Singapore hospital nearly two weeks after the incident.

Last month, a teenager was sentenced to serve three years in juvenile detention in the same case.

The sister-in-law of one of the accused, Mukesh Singh, said that the family would accept whatever punishment is given to Singh.

"I do not know what the verdict will be. If I ask the police to leave him (Mukesh singh, one of the accused in the Delhi gang rape), will they listen to me ? The juvenile in the case has got three years of punishment, now it is upto the law to award whatever punishment they want to give to the other accused. The family cannot do anything about it," she said.

The forensic report found that DNA tests on bloodstains from underwear worn by the main accused, Ram Singh, matched those of the woman. Another test done on a swab taken from her body showed his DNA signature.

Ram Singh was found hanging from the ceiling inside his cell at the Tihar Jail where all five adult accused were being kept.

The DNA samples were taken from bloodstains on clothes of all five accused, curtains and seats on the bus. Samples were also taken from bloodstained dried leaves by the side of the highway where the pair said they were dumped.

The woman's DNA profile showed up in bloodstains on the undergarments and flip-flops of Vinay Sharma, a gym assistant and one of the five men accused, a police document said.

Another test on blood found on his jacket matched that of the woman's friend, who, according to police, fought with the men before he was hit with an iron rod.

Most sex crimes in India go unreported, many offenders go unpunished, and the wheels of justice turn slowly, according to social activists who say that successive governments have done little to ensure the safety of women.

In New Delhi, 643 rape cases were reported up to April 15 this year, up from 179 during the same period in 2012.

Despite stringent laws, girls and women in largely patriarchal India face a barrage of threats and these include forced marriage, rape, dowry-related murder, domestic violence and also human trafficking.