Minor charged with murder

A 17-year-old youth who is being tried in a juvenile court over the fatal gang-rape of a student on a bus in New Delhi was formally charged with murder yesterday, legal sources said.
The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was accused of playing a key role in the murder, rape and robbery of a 23-year-old medical student last December in the Indian capital.
Five adults are also being tried in a separate fast-track court.
Two sources, speaking on condition of anonymity due to a wideranging gagging order, said the minor was present before the judge when the charges were framed.
"The minor has been charged with rape, murder, criminal conspiracy and unnatural sex by the court and he has pleaded not guilty," one person closely involved in the case told AFP.
A second legal source confirmed that the charges had been put to the teenager on Thursday morning and that he had entered a not guilty plea.