Noida gangrape victim identifies 10 of the accused

The woman said she and her friend,who studied with her,had gone to the Great India Place mall in Noida after classes and were returning home when the 11 men,who were on three to four motorcycles,surrounded their car and forced them to stop.

She told the court that the men were carrying cricket bats and stumps. They forced her and the friend on the rear seat of the car as one of the accused — Om Prakash — drove them to a “jungle area”. Here,they physically assaulted the two and all 11 raped her.

According to the victim,later the men forced her and the friend back on the car and abandoned them on a road. They were told that the road led to Delhi. They also threatened the two against informing police.

During cross-examination,the woman said she had identified eight of the accused when they were arrested in 2009 — a few days after the incident — and had seen all 11 in the Noida court at the beginning of the trial.

The woman later moved to the UK and had travelled to Delhi to record her statement before the trial court.

The case,which was registered at the Sector-39 police station in Noida,was transferred to Delhi for trial after the woman’s friend,also a complainant in the case,alleged that he was being threatened and intimidated by one of the accused.