The recent gang-rape of a young woman in India has caused major protests by those outraged by the crime. The woman later died of her injuries. The crime has also brought attention to the issue of women’s rights in India.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has repeated that the government will bring to justice those guilty of the violent rape. Prime Minister Singh said he and ruling Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi share the country’s anger over the crime.
Police have arrested six people accused of the attack which took place on December sixteenth. The driver of the bus was also seized. The victim was a twenty-three-year-old medical student. She and a male friend received a ride on the private bus where a group of men severely beat her for an hour and then threw her off. Her male friend was also beaten.
After receiving treatment in a hospital in the capital, the victim was taken by air to Singapore where she died at Mount Elizabeth Hospital. Doctors said the woman suffered severe brain injury.
Prime Minster Singh told a conference Thursday that attacks against women happen in all states and areas. He said they require greater attention by national and local officials.
“The safety and security of women is of the highest concern to our government. A commission of inquiry is being set up to look into precisely these issues in the capital.”
Officials say two committees will be set up in reaction to the protests. One group is to investigate the possibility of faster trials in cases of sexual violence. Another will examine police reaction to the crime and suggest measures to improve women’s safety.
India’s junior home minister announced another new measure. The official said people who have been found guilty of rape will be publicly dishonored. They are to have their names and pictures placed on a ministry Web site.
In West Bengal State Friday, the chief minister announced plans for establishing sixty five all-female police stations. Mamata Banerjee leads the Trinamool Party. She said stations will be set up across the state to deal with crimes against women. Ten stations are already operating. Ms. Banarjee spoke to a public gathering in the state’s north.
Thousands of people protested the attack in widespread demonstrations this week in New Delhi and across the nation. On Thursday, hundreds tried to march on government buildings in the capital. But riot police armed with tear gas and water cannon stopped them.
At least sixty-five demonstrators were injured in protests earlier in the week. One policeman was killed in the violence and almost eighty security officials were hurt.
Last year, New Delhi alone reported more than five hundred seventy rapes. More than 600 of the crimes have been reported this year.
Some lawmakers in India have now suggested that rape should be punished by death.
