SINGAPORE (AP) — A young Indian woman who was gang-raped and severely beaten on a bus died Saturday at a Singapore hospital,
after her horrific ordeal galvanized Indians to demand greater
protection for women from sexual violence that impacts thousands of them
every day.
She "passed away peacefully" with
her family and officials of the Indian embassy by her side," said Dr.
Kevin Loh, the chief executive of Mount Elizabeth hospital
where she had been treated since Thursday. "The Mount Elizabeth
Hospital team of doctors, nurses and staff join her family in mourning
her loss," he said in a statement.
He said the woman had remained in
an extremely critical condition since Thursday when she was flown to
Singapore from India. "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. 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 in a public bus in the Indian capital, New Delhi,
after watching a film on the evening of Dec. 16 when they were attacked
by six men who raped her. They also beat the couple and inserted an
iron rod into her body resulting in severe organ damage. Both of them
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 hospital in India.
Indian High Commissioner, or
ambassador, 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.
He said arrangements are being made to take her body back to India.
The frightening nature of the
crime shocked Indians, who have come out in their thousands for almost
daily demonstrations, demanding stronger protection for women and death
penalty for rape, which is now punishable by a maximum life
imprisonment. Women face daily harassment across India, ranging from
catcalls on the streets, groping and touching in public transport to
rape.
But 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.
After 10 days at a New Delhi
hospital, the victim was brought to the Mount Elizabeth hospital, which
specializes in multi-organ transplant. But by late Friday, the young
woman's condition had "taken a turn for the worse" and her vital signs
had deteriorated. It was clear then that she would not survive long.
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.
Other politicians have come under fire for comments insulting the protesters and diminishing the crime.
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.
Separately, authorities in Punjab
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.
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Associated Press writer Faris Mokhtar and Ravi Nessman in New Delhi contributed to this report.
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