he interrogation of the six accused in the Delhi gang rape case has revealed that they tried to abduct another girl before they abducted the victim and her friend. This information has been included in the charge-sheet, which was filed by the police on Thursday in a Delhi court.

According to highly placed sources, the six men, after throwing carpenter Ramadhar Singh out of the bus, drove around with the intention to abduct and rape a woman. They spotted a girl in a black dress waiting at a bus stop near the IIT flyover.

"After seeing the girl, Ram Singh directed Akshay Kumar and another accused, the juvenile, to pick her up. Hearing this, Ram Singh's brother Mukesh started driving the bus toward the girl. However, their plan did not succeed as the girl got an auto-rickshaw just before the bus stopped in front of her," a source said.

"Raping a woman was always their intention. They had decided on this during their drinking session. Hence, we have booked them under criminal conspiracy as well. They deliberately passed lewd comments against the victim, which infuriated her friend," the official said.

The friend of the 23-year-old rape victim, during an interview with Zee News on Friday, alleged that policemen who came to the spot wasted more than 30 minutes arguing over their jurisdictions. However, this was refuted by Delhi police officials on Saturday. They said that it took them 18 minutes from the time the distress call was received by the control room to the point where the van left for the hospital with the victim and his friend.

Raping a woman was always their intention. They had decided on this during their drinking session. Hence, we have booked them under criminal conspiracy as well. They deliberately passed lewd comments against the victim, which infuriated her friend.

The brother of the victim too has said that there was a delay in rushing his sister to the hospital. "She told me that after the incident that she had asked passers-by for help but to no avail and it was only after the highway patrol alerted the police that she was rushed to hospital, but it had taken almost two hours," he said. He added that if the passers-by had helped her and if prompt medical assistance was provided, perhaps her life could have been saved.

The Delhi police has already filed an FIR against Zee News under Section 228A of the IPC for revealing the identity of the victim's friend who is a key witness in the case. However, according to legal experts, the police's case against Zee News does not hold much water. "Section 228A talks about not disclosing the identity of a rape victim. In this case, the boy did not take the name of the victim or anything which would reveal her identity. The police will have to prove in court that because Zee TV disclosed her friend's identity, the identity of the victim is in jeopardy. This will be very difficult for them," said Supreme Court lawyer Vikas Upadhyaya.

The action taken against Zee News was criticised by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, BJP's Sushma Swaraj who tweeted that Delhi Police "cannot muzzle voice of the citizen by lodging a case against the Channel. People have a right to know the truth."