Trio Charged Over India Gang Rape to Plead Not Guilty

Three men who have been accused of raping and murdering an Indian student will plead not guilty to the charges, citing lapses in the police investigation, their lawyer announced Wednesday. Manohar Lal Sharma, who is representing the bus driver, his brother and another man, said the case must go to trial so the evidence presented by police can be examined in court. "We are only hearing what the police are saying. This is manipulated evidence. It's all on the basis of hearsay and presumption," Sharma said. The five defendants, who have been charged with murder, rape and other crimes that could carry the death penalty, are scheduled to appear at a pre-trial hearing Thursday. A sixth person, who is 17 years old, has been accused in the crime but will be tried separately in a juvenile court, where the maximum sentence wold be three years in a reform facility. Last week, prosecutor Rajiv Mohan said a DNA test confirmed that the blood of the victim matched blood stains found on the clothes of all the accused. On Dec. 16, a student was attacked and raped on a New Delhi bus before she was thrown on the side of the road. She died at a Singapore hospital weeks after the attack.