Five men accused of the brutal gang rape and murder of a young woman on a Delhi bus claim they are innocent

This article is more than 7 years old

This article is more than 7 years old

Five men accused of the brutal gang rape and murder of a trainee physiotherapist in Delhi have pleaded not guilty in a case that has already prompted the reform of India's sex crime laws.

The accused, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur, Pawan Kumar and brothers Ram and Mukesh Singh, signed statements in the new fast-track court, set up after the killing on 16 December, declaring they were innocent, said one of the men's lawyers.

The court will begin hearing the evidence of witnesses on Tuesday.

The five men could face the death sentence if convicted. A sixth accused, believed to be 17 years old, will be tried in a juvenile court and faces a maximum sentence of three years in a reform facility.

Police say the victim and a male friend were heading home from an evening movie when they boarded the bus. The attackers beat the man and raped the woman, causing her serious internal injuries with a metal bar.

The victims were eventually dumped on the roadside, and the woman died two weeks later in a Singapore hospital.

"After the judge read out the charges, the five pleaded not guilty and walked out," AP Singh, a lawyer defending Sharma and Thakur told Reuters.

The prosecution says it has strong evidence against the five men including bloodstained clothing, DNA matches, mobile phone records, confessions and eyewitness statements.

Singh says Sharma was never on the bus and Thakur was hiding beneath a seat and never took part in the crime. The other men are represented by two other lawyers.