A. P. Singh (C), lawyer of accused gym assistant Vinay Sharma and bus cleaner Akshay Kumar Singh.
A defendant in the New Delhi gang-rape and murder trial has demanded "proper food and newspapers" from jail officials as he prepares for a job recruitment test, AFP reports according to the Press Trust of India. Vinay Sharma, who along with five others allegedly gang-raped a 23-year-old student in a moving bus in December, filed the plea in a fast-track court where he is being tried, the news agency said. Sharma sought "proper food and newspapers" inside jail as he wanted to take a written examination for a clerical position with the Indian Air Force, the Press Trust of India news agency said. Sharma, a 20-year-old gym assistant, said he should be given milk and fruits in jail. He has denied raping the physiotherapy student and pleaded not guilty to the murder charges. Judge Yogesh Khanna ordered the jail authorities to submit their response to Sharma's request. Late last month Sharma asked the court to provide him with a tutor and reading materials to help him prepare for the Indian Air Force clerical recruitment test, local media reported. "My client has got a call letter to appear for an interview with the Indian Air Force," his lawyer told the court on March 26, according to the Indo-Asian News Service. Five men and a 17-year-old teenager were arrested soon after the death of the rape victim, who succumbed to horrific internal injuries after nearly two weeks in hospital. Last month, the main accused in the case, Ram Singh, was found hanged in his prison cell. His family alleged he was murdered. The case has led to months of soul-searching over widespread sexual crime in India, resulted in tougher laws to punish rapists and focused global attention on violence against women in the country.
A defendant in the New Delhi gang-rape and murder trial has demanded "proper food and newspapers" from jail officials as he prepares for a job recruitment test, AFP reports according to the Press Trust of India.
Vinay Sharma, who along with five others allegedly gang-raped a 23-year-old student in a moving bus in December, filed the plea in a fast-track court where he is being tried, the news agency said.
Sharma sought "proper food and newspapers" inside jail as he wanted to take a written examination for a clerical position with the Indian Air Force, the Press Trust of India news agency said.
Sharma, a 20-year-old gym assistant, said he should be given milk and fruits in jail.
He has denied raping the physiotherapy student and pleaded not guilty to the murder charges.
Judge Yogesh Khanna ordered the jail authorities to submit their response to Sharma's request.
Late last month Sharma asked the court to provide him with a tutor and reading materials to help him prepare for the Indian Air Force clerical recruitment test, local media reported.
"My client has got a call letter to appear for an interview with the Indian Air Force," his lawyer told the court on March 26, according to the Indo-Asian News Service.
Five men and a 17-year-old teenager were arrested soon after the death of the rape victim, who succumbed to horrific internal injuries after nearly two weeks in hospital.
Last month, the main accused in the case, Ram Singh, was found hanged in his prison cell. His family alleged he was murdered.
The case has led to months of soul-searching over widespread sexual crime in India, resulted in tougher laws to punish rapists and focused global attention on violence against women in the country.