On Sunday 16th December a man and a woman, having been out to see a film, boarded a bus home to an upcoming district of New Delhi. The bus was driven by Mukesh Singh, on board was his brother Ram Singh, and their friends a cleaner, a fruit seller, a gym instructor and others employed to help with the bus. The couple were unaware that this bus was the vehicle for an entertaining joyride around Delhi. The passengers had been drinking and wanted to pick up passengers in the hope that it would pay for more liquor. They had succeeded in picking up a carpenter whom they had robbed and chucked out an hour earlier. Crucially, they had stolen his mobile phone and so their first crime had not already been called in. The gang picked up some banter with the new male passenger, described universally as the woman’s “friend”. They felt it was inappropriate for the pair to be out at night together, they argued and the man was beaten about the head. No shrinking violet, the woman went to his defence and fought with Ram Singh; biting his hand. Drunk and incensed; he beat the woman, now nick [...]
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