New Delhi, January 3
The Delhi Police on Thursday filed the chargesheet against five accused in the brutal gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old trainee physiotherapist.

Charges were filed against five of the six accused as the sixth claimed he is a minor. His case would be heard by the Juvenile Justice Board.

The five accused, Ram Singh, his brother Mukesh, Pawan Gupta alias Kaloo, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Kumar alias Thakur, were charged with murder, gangrape, attempt to murder, kidnapping, unnatural offences, dacoity, hurting in committing robbery, destruction of evidence, criminal conspiracy and common intention under the Indian Penal Code. The 1,260-page chargesheet, comprising 33 key pages, was filed before Metropolitan Magistrate Surya Malik Grover 18 days after the brutal incident. 

The prosecution urged the court to keep the document in a sealed cover to protect the identity of the victim. It alleged that the crime was executed in a "well-planned" manner. 

"We have invoked Section 120-B as the accused committed the crime in a well-planned manner," public prosecutor Rajiv Mohan told reporters. "Each one of them has a specific role in the commission of the offence. So they are equally liable for the crime. We have sufficient evidence against all the accused, including the juvenile offender," he said. 

Mohan said the DNA report has established the involvement of all the accused in the crime. The chargesheet also contains the victim’s statement before her death on December 29. 

The role of the juvenile offender is also elaborated in the chargesheet. The police said it was waiting to obtain the results of his ossification (bone) test, which will determine his age. 

The court has posted the matter for hearing on January 5. After the examination of the documents, including the FIR on Saturday, the case will be referred to the fast-track court inaugurated by the Chief Justice of India on Wednesday. 

Apart from the victim's male friend, who was also assaulted in the bus, the chargesheet names around 40 people as witnesses to support its case against the five accused. The accused have also been charged with attempt to kill the male friend in the bus, whose owner was arrested yesterday.