Delhi gang rape accused says police tortured him

New Delhi: One of the five men charged with the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman said police tortured him in custody and he and at least three of his co-defendants say they are innocent, lawyers said on.

The five accused arrived in court for a closed hearing with their faces covered by scarves, and accompanied for the first time by defence lawyers. The physiotherapy student died on December 29, two weeks after being beaten and raped on a moving bus in New Delhi, then thrown bleeding onto the street. Nationwide protests followed against the government's perceived failure to stem rising violence against women.

One of the men, Mukesh Singh, the brother of a bus driver who police say was the leader of the gang, will base his defence on police brutality, his lawyer said. "Mukesh was illegally tortured in the custody of the police," said the lawyer, Manohar Lal Sharma.

The five face charges of murder, gang rape and abduction, prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty. A sixth suspect is being investigated separately to determine if he is below the age of 18, as he says he is.