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INDIAN LEADERS HAVE appealed for calm as security forces headed off fresh unrest by turning New Delhi into a fortress today after a student who was savagely gang-raped died in a Singapore hospital.
Police threw a ring of steel around the centre of the Indian capital after news of the 23-year-old medical student’s death was broken in the early hours by the Singapore hospital that had been treating her for the last two days.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh led the tributes to the unnamed woman who has been dubbed “India’s Daughter” as he insisted he understood the wave of protests that erupted in the aftermath of her assault on 16 December.
Her body is to be flown back to India later in the day, accompanied by her parents who were at her bedside when she was pronounced dead at 4:45 am local time (8.45pm GMT).
A bouquet of roses are left in front of the empty coffin for the body of the young woman. (Photo: AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
“She had suffered from severe organ failure following serious injuries to her body and brain,” said Kelvin Loh, chief executive of Singapore’s Mount Elizabeth Hospital.
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.
After boarding a bus on 16 December, the student was attacked by six men who took it in turns to rape her and assaulted her with an iron bar before throwing her and her male companion off the moving vehicle.
The six men who had already been arrested are now facing murder charges, which can carry the death penalty.
“We hope to file the charge sheet by 3 January,” said Dharmendra Kumar, one of Delhi’s most senior police officers.
Turning point
Gang-rapes are a daily occurrence in India and many go unreported by victims who have little faith in an often painfully slow justice system and are deterred by the response they can receive from male police officers.
But the particularly savage nature of the attack in Delhi brought simmering anger to the boiling point and prompted the government to promise better security for women and harsher sentences for sex crimes.
“We have already seen the emotions and energies this incident has generated,” said Singh.
“These are perfectly understandable reactions from a young India and an India that genuinely desires change.”
His comments were echoed by Sonia Gandhi, leader of the ruling Congress party and India’s most powerful politician. She said:
As a woman and mother, I understand the pain. Her fight will not go in vain.
Criticism of the police
The police have been heavily criticised for their hardline tactics in trying to quash the protests, including the frequent use of teargas and water cannon.
Neeraj Kumar, Delhi’s police commissioner, urged people to maintain calm as the area around the India Gate monument – the epicentre of the protests – would be sealed off.
Ten downtown metro stations were also closed while large numbers of roadblocks were set up on roads leading to government buildings.
Policewomen in riot gear stand guard at a checkpoint after security was increased to minimise protests in New Dehli (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Many of the security reinforcements who had been drafted in were women, following a pledge by the government to have a rethink about policing.
Small numbers of protestors did gather in Jantar Mantar, a traditional focus point for rallies.
“The rape of the girl and the trauma she experienced is not new and this has happened in the past but this case has acted like a pressure cooker blast effect,” Anjali Raval, a 35-year-old housewife, told AFP at the rally.
“It is high time we woke up and fought for women’s safety.”
The government has had to fend off claims that the victim was transferred to Singapore to prevent her from dying on Indian soil and thus further inflaming tensions here.
However T.C.A. Raghavan, the Indian high commissioner in Singapore, said the decision was taken on medical grounds after “consultations between the medical team treating her in Delhi with the surgeons and physicians in Singapore”.
The family
The envoy also spoke in a press conference of the ordeal endured by the family of the victim, who hail from a rural part of Uttar Pradesh.
“They have repeatedly asked me to say how inspired they are by the many messages of support and condolences they have received,” he said. ”This reinforces their view that the death of their child will lead to a better future for all women in India and in Delhi.”
Indian news channels carried blanket coverage, with the NDTV network running a ticker-tape headline “RIP India’s Daughter”.
Her ordeal began after she boarded a school bus that a group of six men were taking for a joyride after drinking heavily, according to police and prosecutors.
She had been out at the cinema with a male companion who was also attacked by the gang. The bus, which had tinted windows, was able to pass several police checkpoints before the pair were eventually thrown out of the vehicle.
(Photos: AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi, AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal, AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, AP Photo/ Saurabh Das AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
After all that you’ve come to the conclusion that we sometimes have good weather in June. Lucky I’m in working reading this , if it was in my own spare time I’d be a little upset.
Ridiculous nonsense. …we’re a small island in the north Atlantic with zero influence on our weather
It’s called June, you dopes.
So it will snow in December so with that logic! I think you are the dope!
Wrong, Ciaran.
It’s sunny every June in Ireland – it rarely ever snows in December. Try again.
Exam Weather!! Exam weather!
Jasyus some people will find an argument in anything..good luck lads.
In fairness lads. There was a lot of work went into this article. At least acknowledge that much.
Jesus, a long boring column about sunshine in June.
This was cleared up by Danny Healy Rae.
God decides the weather.
And he send sunshine at the start of the Leaving Cert every year to punish us for teaching girls maths.
Brilliant!
What an absolute waste of journalism
Maybe stick do dealing with actual important issues for this sort of article. Leave this nonsense for that other section about “Irish Mammies”, “notions” and rubbish from Twitter.
We asked a psychic cat what the best Irish name is. You won’t believe what it said…
That cat has notions
Holy moley , you know a talking cat? What did it say?
Click here to find out.
Hilarious video of Irish Mammy reacting to psychic cat.
Eh don’t knock the author , some poor commenter sent in this as a fact check request !
Yeah, and they chose to run with the stupid question.
Ronan. .must read, yea right…but kudos to ur research!
Weather wasn’t good for the Exams last year if anyone remembers we had a terrible Summer none of the Flowers grew well this year so far the Flowers are growing great so should have a good Summer
FACT HUNT
I still remember myself and my mother splitting a bottle of wine while having salad in the garden the Sunday before my leaving cert and passing out in the sun. Woke up with the worst sun burn. Good times
What? A fact check about the weather? Don’t you know all the readers wanna do is comment on abortion, I hope ye are not trying to report on other issues!!!!
How in the name of God do you log in with a twitter account. I’ve been trying for days. It just won’t allow it.
It keeps saying login error or log out of the app (no option to do this) and log back in. Over and over again.
Patrick, not sure but there’s an option to log out of your Facebook account and then log in with your Twitter
Doesn’t work. I’ve tried that a few times. Tried uninstalling and reinstalling again. Tried the computer also. It just won’t work. I’m beginning to think I’m either mad or stupid or both.
I’ve recommended they do a fact checking article on whether you’re doing it right or wrong. Let’s get to the bottom of this one.
I’m definitely doing it wrong. Do an idiots guide to logging in with Twitter. That’d help.
Do you have the twitter app on an iphone and do you use it?
Samsung Galaxy S5
Using it now. Only allows my Facebook though. It’s not a big deal but it has become an issue because it just won’t do it. Now I have to get it to work.
Has anyone else experienced this? I see ye all with your Twitter eggs now and it grates.
Patrick set ur twitter account with someone’s phone you known and have their permission to use.it should work then . it’s then separate from your phone.
Number
Thanks Sparky. I’ll try that. Seems kinda silly though. Maybe if that’s the case I’ll try to uninstall Facebook and messenger and try to log in with Twitter then. That might work so. Should be able to reinstall them afterwards again. There is nothing about this problem anywhere though.
Oh I get what you are saying now. I just use their number but can still have the account on my phone. the penny drops.
It is but it worked for me..the only problem is now I’ll have to argue with u on two accounts. Lol
Its only one issue sparky. You might find me reasonable on others. Bloody complicated rigmarole for a stupid egg, though. Maybe they could explain the situation some bit in the accounts page. Another resentment added to the list.
Just hope you got it sorted..I’m sure I will.
Ah Patrick, don’t be jealous of our eggs now , although sparky’s is a nicer colour than my one !
Jasus can I go back to bed, I thought the coffee was doing its job for a minute
Total rubbish.
By the way.
Google “Hitler Weather”.
have your say