An Indian magistrate ruled Monday that the media will not be allowed to attend pretrial hearings or the trial of the five men accused of raping and killing a young student in the Indian capital, a police official said.

Magistrate Namrita Aggarwal upheld the prosecutor's request that the media be barred from attending the proceedings, according to police spokesman Rajan Bhagat. Hundreds of journalists, lawyers from other cases and curious onlookers had crowded the courtroom where the five were to appear. Outside the courthouse complex, more than a dozen TV satellite trucks jammed the streets, and dozens of reporters — from India, the U.S., Japan and elsewhere — were waiting for news.

Freelance reporter Faiz Jamil told CBC News that the public was also barred from the courtroom following scenes of chaos. He said a group of lawyers heckled another lawyer who had stood up in court to say he would represent the five accused.

A police officer clears the way for a police van believed to carrying five men accused in a gang rape as they arrive at court in New Delhi, India, on Monday. (Manish Swarup/Associated Press)

A local lawyers' association had previously said it would not represent the five, meaning the judge would have to appoint a lawyer.

Jamil said the court hearing would continue to remain closed to the public for at least the remainder of Monday.

The hearing is expected to result in the case being sent to a special "fast-track" court. Indian courts are notoriously slow, with some cases dragging on for decades. The trial is expected to begin in the coming days. Indian rape trials are normally closed to the media.

Authorities have charged the men with murder, rape and other crimes that could bring them the death penalty. The crime caused nationwide outrage, leading to massive protests.

A sixth suspect, who is 17 years old, is expected to be tried in a juvenile court, where the maximum sentence would be three years in a reform facility.

TV network under fire for companion's interview

Prosecutor Rajiv Mohan said last week that a DNA test confirmed that the blood of the victim matched blood stains found on the clothes of all the accused.

Indian students hold placards and shout slogans during an anti-rape rally in Gauhati. The gang rape and beating of a 23-year-old university student on a moving bus in India's capital has taken sexual violence, a subject long hidden in the shadows of Indian society, and thrust it into the spotlight. (Anupam Nath/Associated Press)

On Sunday, two of the defendants offered to become "approvers" or informers against the others, according to reporters present at the hearing. The two were presumably seeking lighter sentences.

The companion of the student recounted in a television interview last week how the pair was attacked for 2½ hours on a New Delhi bus before being thrown on the side of the road, where passersby ignored them and police debated jurisdiction issues before helping them. The student died at a Singapore hospital weeks after the Dec. 16 attack.

Indian law prohibits the disclosure of victims' identities in rape cases. While neither the companion nor the TV network, Zee News, identified the woman, police opened an investigation into Zee News after the interview was broadcast, saying too many details about the attack had been revealed.

The attack has led to calls for tougher rape laws and reforms of a police culture that often blames rape victims and refuses to file charges against accused attackers. The nation's top law enforcement official said the country needs to crack down on crimes against women.