PETITION: IMMEDIATE DEMANDS FROM THE PRIME MINISTER RE: THE DELHI GANG RAPE

India: A Rape Victim Commits Suicide
By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Published: December 27, 2012

A 17-year-old girl who was gang-raped last month committed suicide after a police officer pressed her to drop the case and marry one of her attackers, the police and a relative said Thursday. One police officer has been fired and another suspended over their conduct after the assault in Punjab State, officials said. A police official, Inspector General Paramjit Singh Gill, said the girl had urged the police to open a formal inquiry, but instead “one of the officers tried to convince her to withdraw the case.” The girl swallowed poison and was found dead Wednesday night.

CBSNews.com
AP/ December 28, 2012, 10:10 PM
Indian gang rape victim dies in hospital

SINGAPORE An Indian woman who was gang-raped and beaten on a bus in New Delhi died Saturday at a Singapore hospital, after her ordeal galvanized Indians to demand greater protection for women from sexual violence that impacts thousands of them every day.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he was aware of the emotions the attack has stirred and that it was up to all Indians to ensure that the young woman's death will not have been in vain.

The victim "passed away peacefully" with her family and officials of the Indian Embassy by her side, Dr. Kevin Loh, the chief executive of Mount Elizabeth hospital, said in a statement.

After 10 days at a hospital in New Delhi, the Indian capital, the woman was brought Thursday to Mount Elizabeth hospital, which specializes in multi-organ transplants. Loh said the woman had been in extremely critical condition since Thursday, and by late Friday her condition had taken a turn for the worse, with her vital signs deteriorating.

"Despite all efforts by a team of eight specialists in Mount Elizabeth Hospital to keep her stable, her condition continued to deteriorate over these two days," Loh said. "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."

The woman and a male friend, who have not been identified, were traveling on a bus in New Delhi after watching a film on the evening of Dec. 16 when they were attacked by six men who raped her. The men also beat the couple and inserted an iron rod into the woman's body, resulting in severe organ damage. Both were then stripped and thrown off the bus, according to police.

Indian police have arrested six people in connection with the attack, which left the victim with severe internal injuries, a lung infection and brain damage. She also suffered from a heart attack while in the hospital in India.

Indian High Commissioner, or ambassador, T.C.A. Raghavan told reporters that the scale of the injuries the woman suffered was "very grave" and in the end "proved too much."

He said arrangements were being made to take her body back to India.

The frightening nature of the crime shocked Indians, who have come out in the thousands for almost daily demonstrations. Indian television channels said security had been tightened in New Delhi on Saturday in anticipation of more protests following the woman's death.

The protesters are demanding stronger protection for women and the death penalty for rape, which is now punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. Women face daily harassment across India, ranging from catcalls on the streets, groping and touching in public transport to rape.

Singh said he understands the angry reaction to the attack and hopes all Indians will work together to make appropriate changes.

"These are perfectly understandable reactions from a young India and an India that genuinely desires change," the prime minister said in a statement Saturday. "It would be a true homage to her memory if we are able to channel these emotions and energies into a constructive course of action."

He said the government was examining the penalties for crimes such as rape "to enhance the safety and security of women."

"I hope that the entire political class and civil society will set aside narrow sectional interests and agendas to help us all reach the end that we all desire — making India a demonstrably better and safer place for women to live in," Singh said.

Mamta Sharma, head of the state-run National Commission for Women, said the "time has come for strict laws" to stop violence against women. "The society has to change its mindset to end crimes against women," she said.

The tragedy has forced India to confront the reality that sexually assaulted women are often blamed for the crime, which forces them to keep quiet and not report it to authorities for fear of exposing their families to ridicule. Also, police often refuse to accept complaints from those who are courageous enough to report the rapes, and the rare prosecutions that reach courts drag on for years.

Indian attitudes toward rape are so entrenched that even politicians and opinion makers have often suggested that women should not go out at night or wear clothes that might be seen provocative.

On Friday, Abhijit Mukherjee, a national lawmaker and the son of India's president, apologized for calling the protesters "highly dented and painted" women who go from discos to demonstrations.

"I tender my unconditional apology to all the people whose sentiments got hurt," he told NDTV news.

Several Indian celebrities reacted with sadness Saturday over the woman's death. Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan tweeted, "Her body has passed away, but her soul shall forever stir our hearts."

Separately, authorities in Punjab state took action Thursday when an 18-year-old woman killed herself by drinking poison a month after she told police she was gang-raped.

State authorities suspended one police officer and fired two others on accusations they delayed investigating and taking action in the case. The three accused in the rape were only arrested Thursday night, a month after the crime was reported.

"This is a very sensitive crime, I have taken it very seriously," said Paramjit Singh Gill, a top police officer in the city of Patiala.

The Press Trust of India reported that the woman was raped Nov. 13 and reported the attack to police Nov. 27. But police harassed the girl, asked her embarrassing questions and took no action against the accused, PTI reported, citing police sources.

Authorities in the eastern state of Chhattisgarh also suspended a police officer on accusations he refused to register a rape complaint from a woman who said she had been attacked by a driver.

India and the death penalty
By Sanjoy Majumder
BBC News, Delhi

Capital punishment is rarely carried out in India
Although India is one of a number of countries around the world which still practises capital punishment, it is rarely used.
A 1983 ruling by the country's Supreme Court stated that the death penalty should be imposed only in "the rarest of rare cases".
Only particularly gruesome or politically sensitive cases have attracted the penalty.
The assassins of India's independence leader, Mahatma Gandhi, and former prime minister Indira Gandhi were among those executed in the past 60 years.
Special circumstances
In India the death penalty is carried out by hanging.
An attempt to challenge this method of execution failed in the Supreme Court, which stated in its 1983 judgement that hanging did not involve torture, barbarity, humiliation or degradation.
The last execution in India was held in August 2004 when Dhananjoy Chatterjee, convicted of raping and murdering a schoolgirl in 1990, was hanged to death.
It was the first such execution since 1995.
Under Indian law, the death penalty can be imposed for:
murder
gang robbery with murder
abetting the suicide of a child or insane person
waging war against the government
abetting mutiny by a member of the armed forces
In recent years, however, special courts have also extended the penalty to cases of terrorism under anti-terror legislation.
And some people are pushing for it to be used against rapists.
"There were fewer death penalty cases in the 70s and 80s," constitutional lawyer Rajiv Dhawan told the BBC News website.
But he said death sentences appeared to be on the rise in recent years.
Over the past year, Indian courts have handed out three death sentences in cases relating to rape and murder.
Appeal
Once sentenced, a defendant has the right to appeal against the sentence as well as the conviction.
The appeal will be heard by a higher court and can go all the way up to the Supreme Court, a process that can take two to three years.
If all fails, the president of India can be approached to grant clemency - something he can do only after seeking the advice of the Indian cabinet.
In the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case a special court sentenced to death 26 men and women in 1998.
In May 1999 the Supreme Court commuted three of the death sentences to life imprisonment and released 19 others.
Of the remaining four, one was granted clemency in August 2000, while the appeals of the others are pending before the president.

bb1 wrote:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2256444/Revealed-How-youngest-Indian-gang-rapist-cruellest-men-youth-charged-murder.html