80 witnesses to testify in gang rape trial

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NEW DEHLI, India, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Advocates said the trial of five men charged with gang-raping a 23-year-old woman on a bus in New Dehli will take another three months.

The Indo-Asian News Service said the New Dehli trial was delayed when the judge's father died, but it will resume Monday.

The trial is likely to be lengthy, as police plan to produce 80 witnesses, including the woman's friend, doctors at the hospital and the magistrate who recorded the victim's statement, IANS said.

Reporters are not allowed in the daily hearings, IANS said, and lawyers are prohibited from talking to journalists about the proceedings.

The five men and a juvenile allegedly gang-raped and tortured a young woman in a moving bus on Dec. 16, IANS said.

The men then allegedly threw the women and her male friend off the bus. The woman died 13 days later.

The defendants' lawyer said he is doubtful his clients will receive a fair trial with the public pressure surrounding the incident.