"The court recorded statements of the four accused under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure", special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told PTI. Under Section 313 of the CrPC, the accused are given a chance to explain the circumstances and allegations against them through their statements.
The case pertains to the alleged gangrape of a 22-year-old magazine photojournalist who had gone out on an official assignment with her male colleague, to the deserted Shakti Mills compound located in Central Mumbai, on August 22 last year.
The accused, namely Vijay Jadhav, Kasim Bengali, Salim Ansari and Siraj Rehman as well as a minor boy, were charged with rape, conspiracy, common intention, unnatural sex and other sections under the Information Technology Act.
On September 19, 2013, the Mumbai police crime branch had filed a 600-page chargesheet against four of the accused.
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In another related case, an 18-year-old telephone operator was also allegedly gangraped by the five accused (including three of those who were charged for raping the photojournalist).
The police had filed a 362-page chargesheet on October 8 last year, against the four accused in connection with the telephone operator's gangrape case. Later on, the minor's case was separated.