(Newser)
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As expected, murder charges were filed today against five men accused of brutally gang-raping a woman on a New Delhi bus. The sixth suspect, a teenager, will see his case handled separately. The men were also charged with rape and other crimes, a list expected to include kidnapping, robbery, and assault, the New York Times reports. The combination could result in the death penalty, which is rare in India. Also rare in India: The trial will be fast-tracked. (Click for more details that have leaked from the filing.)
The father of the victim, who was a 23-year-old physiotherapy student, wants the men responsible—including the teen—to be hanged, Reuters reports. He also wants new sex crimes legislation named after his daughter, who has not been identified in accordance with Indian law. The BBC has a profile of her: She dreamed of building a hospital in her ancestral village to help people in the severely undeveloped region; she had wanted to become a doctor since childhood and saw education as the way to improve her family's situation; she studied at all hours. "She was brave, had no fear, and was full of life," says her father.
