The first of 80 witnesses scheduled to testify on the Delhi gang-rape case took the stand Tuesday in Saket District Court, where five men are standing trial for the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman. If convicted of the 13 charges, the five defendants could face the death penalty. The witness arrived with the victim’s male friend, who remains in a wheelchair following the injuries he sustained. Neither can be named for legal reasons. After more than a month of riots calling for increased protection of women in India, President Pranab Mukherjee passed sweeping legislation Sunday, which included allowing the death penalty to be employed in “extreme cases.”
