Dec 16 gang rape victim died in India, not Singapore: Accused

New Delhi, April 26 (IANS) The Dec 16 gang-rape victim died in India due to medical negligence and her dead body was shifted to Singapore because of public agitation and pressure, claimed counsel for one of the accused in the case.

The counsel of accused Vinay Sharma, while cross-examining the prosecution witnesses - two doctors who were part of the medical team of Safdarjung Hospital where the 23-year-old woman was initially treated, told the fast track court that the victim had died here due to the negligence of the doctors who were attending to her.

However, the doctors denied the claim, saying the victim was shifted to the Singapore's Mount Elizabeth Hospital to provide her with the best possible treatment.

"It is wrong to suggest that the victim had died in India due to the alleged negligence of the team of doctors treating her. It is wrong to suggest that the dead body of the victim was transported outside India, because of public agitation and pressure," one of the doctors told Additional Session Judge Yogesh Khanna.

The counsel appearing for other accused Pawan and Akshay Thakur also alleged that victim, who was gang-raped by six men in the moving bus, was not shifted to Singapore for organ transplant or best possible medical care but because she had died here in India and the government did not want the public to know it.

Another doctor had earlier told the court that since the victim was in critical condition, she was rushed to Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore to manage her critical condition and at a later stage, consider transplant of her organs.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police told the court that it will file its reply on Monday on the plea of accused Vinay seeking permission to undergo a lie detector test to establish his innocence.

The 23-year-old woman was brutally tortured and gang-raped in a moving bus Dec 16, 2012 by allegedly the five accused and a juvenile. She later died in a Singapore hospital.

The juvenile is facing proceedings before a Juvenile Justice Board, while the other accused were put up for trial in the fast track court. One of the accused, Ram Singh, is dead, having allegedly committed suicide in jail.