The trial in December 16 gang-rape case entered into an important phase with completion of recording statements of accused on Wednesday. The special fast track court recorded the statement of four accused and asked the defence counsel to furnish the list of defence witnesses by Wednesday.
All four accused — Mukesh Singh, Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma and Pawan Gupta — facing trial in the case in the court of Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna claimed innocence by narrating different stories.
However, Mukesh in his statement has confessed that it was he who drove the bus in which 23-years-old girl was gang-raped by six people. He also told the court that all the arrested six accused — including deceased Ram Singh and Juvenile — were present in the bus.
Akshay Thakur who was the cleaner in the bus told that he had left for his native place in Jharkhand two days before the incident had taken place. Another accused Vinay Sharma too claimed innocence and alleged that he was falsely dragged in the case only because of enmity with deceased accused Ram Singh and his brother Mukesh. Pawan Gupta told the court that, he was in an inebriated state on the day of the incident and was not in the bus in which the 23-year-old girl was gang-raped.
Advocate VK Anand appearing for Mukesh told the court that no defence witness will be deposed to defend the accused, while accused Pawan Gupta's father and his maternal uncle would be defence witness. Defence counsel AP Singh appearing for accused Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur will submit the list of witnesses on Wednesday.