New Delhi:
The inquiry against the juvenile accused in the Delhi gangrape case has been concluded, according to the Press Trust of India, which adds that the verdict has been reserved.
The sixth accused arrested in the horrific case was declared a minor by the Juvenile Justice Board in January. The board went by his school certificate, which declares his age to be 17 years and six months, and rejected the Delhi police's plea for a bone test.
The juvenile faces a maximum sentence of three years in a reform facility. The police have described him as "an equal participant in the crime" and believes he was the most depraved of the six attackers.
The other four accused are being tried before a fast track court. The fifth and the main accused Ram Singh was found hanging in Tihar Jail in March and the proceedings against him stand abated.
The 23-year-old medical student was gang-raped in the national capital on the night of December 16 in a moving bus, which was running without permit. The men first attacked the student and her friend with an iron rod and then gang-raped her.
The student died on December 29 in a Singapore hospital after a brave battle for survival.
The magnitude of the assault and her death shook the country, triggering fiery protests demanding better policing for women and a review of laws that deal with sexual offenders. In March, Parliament passed a new law to provide stricter punishment for rape and other sexual crimes against women.