Six Indian men were charged with
murder today after the death of a woman gang-raped on a bus.
The move came as armed police today
sealed off parts off New Delhi and appealed for calm.
The 23-year-old student's body is
being flown home after she 'passed away peacefully' in a Singapore hospital
where she had been taken for specialist treatment.
She suffered multiple organ failure
and a heart attack following the brutal assault on December 16 which has
triggered violent public protests.
Her horrific ordeal has galvanised
Indians to demand greater protection for women from sexual violence with mass
demonstrations, candle-lit vigils and street protests with placards, chants and
road blocks. One policeman has died in the protests.
Hundreds of armed officers and riot
troops patrolled the capital, closing down a number of metro railway stations
and asked people not to travel into the city.
Gatherings of more than five people
have been banned in the city centre.
A few hundred protesters arrived
this morning at the Jantar Mantar observatory, one of the areas of the city
where demonstrations are allowed, the BBC reported.
The victim's family and officials from the Indian High Commission were at her bedside when she lost her 13-day fight for life.
In a statement, Dr. Kevin Loh, the
chief executive of Mount Elizabeth where she had been treated since Thursday,
said the team of doctors and nurses treating her 'join her family in mourning
her loss,'
He added: 'Despite all efforts by a
team of eight specialists to keep her stable, her condition continued to
deteriorate over these two days.
'She had suffered from severe organ
failure following serious injuries to her body and brain. She was courageous in
fighting for her life for so long against the odds but the trauma to her body
was too severe for her to overcome.'
Indian High Commissioner, to
Singapore T.C.A. Raghanvan told reporters that the scale of the injuries she
suffered was 'very grave' and in the end it 'proved too much.'
Her body will be flown back to India
today.
She and a male friend were traveling
in a public bus in the evening when they were attacked by six men who raped her
and beat them both. They also inserted the rod in her body, stripped both naked
and threw them off the bus on a road after their hour-long ordeal.
It comes as another rape victim in
India is believed to have committed suicide after police took 14 days to
register her case and a further 30 days to make an arrest.
The six suspects have all been
remanded in custody and two police officers suspended. In response to the
protests, the Indian government has promising to make public the photographs,
names and addresses of convicted rapists.
While the woman chief minister of
India's West Bengal state Mamata Banerjee, unveiled plans today for 65
all-female police stations.
The rape has triggered widespread
outrage and calls for ensuring the safety of women who are subject to sexual
harassment ranging from groping to rape every day across India.
The Indian prime minister Manmohan
Singh said: 'The issue of safety and security of women is of the highest
concern to our government.'
The police officer killed during the
protests was a 47-year-old married father of three. He died after three days'
in hospital, according to news service Al Jazeera
.
Eight people have been arrested and
charged in connection with his death.
A relative said.'It is the fault of
the people. He was only doing his duty and following police orders. But the
public attacked him and killed him so the people are responsible.'
Police said an autopsy showed the
officer had a heart attack that could have been caused by injuries suffered
during violence at the protest.
An Associated Press journalist at
the scene said the officer was running toward the protesters with a group of
police when he collapsed on the ground and began frothing at the mouth and
shaking. The journalist said two protesters rushed to the officer to try to
help him.
During the days of protests, reports
reveal more than 100 people and about 70 officers have been hurt.
Police have used batons, teargas and
water cannon to try and disperse the demonstrators after the authorities
attempted to limit the public gatherings.
The Government has faced criticism
for the use of force against protesters, the failure to implement laws to protect
women in India's 'rape capital' and for how slow it has been to respond to the
strength of feeling.
Protesters demanding safer public transportation for women and the resignation of Delhi's police commissioner tried to march to the major India Gate traffic circle in central Delhi before being stopped by police in riot gear manning barricades.
Protesters carried signs reading,
'Immediately end rape culture in India' and 'Zero tolerance of violence against
women'.
Rape victims rarely press charges
because of social stigma and fear they will be accused of inviting the attack.
Many women say they structure their lives around protecting themselves and
their daughters from attack.
Some protesters have called for the
death penalty or castration for rapists, who under current laws face a maximum
punishment of life imprisonment.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pledged today to take action to protect the nation's women.
Singh's government set up two
committees in response to the protests. One, looking into speeding up sexual
assault trials, has already received 6,100 email suggestions. The second will
examine what lapses might have contributed to the rape - which took place on a
moving bus that passed through police checkpoints - and suggest measures to
improve women's safety.
'Let me state categorically that the
issue of safety and security of women is of the highest concern to our
government,' Singh said at a development meeting. He urged officials in India's
states to pay special attention to the problem.
'There can be no meaningful
development without the active participation of half the population, and this
participation simply cannot take place if their security and safety is not
assured,' he said.
Singh previously came under fire for
remaining largely silent after the rape. He issued a statement for the first
time on Sunday - a week after the crime.
The horrific sexual assault, which
took place on a bus on December 16, in New Delhi, lasted 40 minutes, according
to the Gulfnews.com, which states the men involved allegedly tricked the woman
to board the bus.
B.D. Athani, the medical
superintendent of Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi, where the woman had been
treated, said she suffered severe intestinal and abdominal injuries, underwent
three surgeries and had parts of her intestines removed, according to the Press
Trust of India.
'With fortitude and courage, the
girl survived the after-effects of the injuries so far well. But the condition
continues to be critical,' he was quoted as saying.
Dailymail.co.uk
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