A third suspect accused of fatally gang-raping a 23-year-old student in a moving bus in New Delhi last month will plead not guilty to all charges, his lawyer said on Wednesday.
Advocate ML Sharma said he would file the plea on behalf of Ram Singh, the driver of the bus where the attack allegedly took place which has fuelled angry protests across India.
“I am representing Ram Singh and I will file a ‘not guilty’ plea,” Sharma, who is also representing Singh’s brother Mukesh and labourer Akshay Thakur in the case, told reporters.
The advocate said on Tuesday that the other two men would also plead not guilty to the string of charges including gang-rape, murder and kidnapping.
“Whoever committed this heinous crime should be punished but my clients are not the real culprits,” he said.
It is not yet clear who will represent the two remaining defendants. All five men are residents of New Delhi slums aged from 19 to 35. A sixth accused, who is 17, is to be tried in a separate court for juveniles.