Delhi gangrape victim dies in Singapore, India grieves

Thousands gathered near the Jantar Mantar observatory in New Delhi on Saturday, December 29, 2012, in a mass outpouring of grief for the gangrape victim.

As news of her death after 13 days of struggle emerged, the young and the old, men and women, began to silently gather at the site, the number reaching a thousand by afternoon and rapidly swelling thereafter.

By night, there was a sea of humanity holding candles -- and placing them neatly in winding rows in memory of the 23-year-old who passed away early Saturday in a Singapore hospital.

Some people held larger flaming torches.

The crowds were largely peaceful. But tempers ran high briefly when Delhi's Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit made a sudden appearance, triggering loud boos. After lighting a candle, Dikshit made a hurried exit.

Underneath the calm, there was palpable anger.

Delhiites want the six rapists to be hanged within 13 days of the funeral rites (of the victim). Deep Kaur, 21, said, "Only then will her soul rest in peace."

Delhi's cold weather did not deter the protesters from showing their solidarity with the woman who since her rape (December 16) had become a symbol of everything that is rotten in the Indian system.

Even the closure of 10 Delhi Metro stations and the blockade of several roads in and around India Gate could not stop the crowds from pouring into Jantar Mantar.

"The law must be amended. It is time to awaken the government," said Ashok Rajput, a 28-year-old employee of a diplomatic mission. "Rapists should be hanged."

Political pundit Yogendra Yadav was there too. "It is only by ensuring that such a barbaric incident does not happen again is how we can pay our homage to her," he said.

Many held placards -- and hand-written posters. Some sang memorial songs in unison.

People shouted slogans. A few gave fiery speeches. The one common message was: Enough is enough!

Some sprawled on the road with black ribbons tied to their mouths.

A student, Nogita Chakrobarty, said, "We are lying down as we want to show that we too have died along with the young woman. It's a Black Saturday for all of us."

A young man and his friend dressed as "Lady of Justice" also demanded that the six males in the bus who gangraped the victim should be hanged within the 13-day of her funeral rites.

Jantar Mantar, in the very heart of Delhi, was one of only two places Delhi Police said protests could take place.

The rest of central Delhi was barricaded by several hundred police and paramilitary personnel.

A few politicians did reach Jantar Mantar but remained largely in the background. They included Brinda Karat, a Marxist and a women's activist. Aam Admi Party's Arvind Kejriwal sat in the crowd, silently.

In the evening, former Army Chief Gen V.K. Singh also made an appearance.

A few men said they had taken a vow: there should be no violence against women.

The unnamed and unidentified gangrape victim who became the face of courage against savage odds died in a Singapore hospital on Saturday, December 29, 2012, leaving all of India stunned and shaken with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pranab Mukherjee echoing millions in saying her death should not be in vain.

Workers from a Hindu Casket service unload the body of the gangrape victim, on Saturday, December 29, 2012 in Singapore.

In the dying days of the year, the young physiotherapy intern lost her battle for life far away from home in a Singapore hospital - 13 days after a trip to a south Delhi mall to see a film with a friend ended in her being brutally tortured and raped by six men in a moving bus.


A bouquet of roses are left in front of the empty coffin for the body of gangrape victim, on Saturday, December 29, 2012 in Singapore.

Scores of people on Saturday mourned in silence the victim's death and demanded stringent punishment for the culprits. At Jantar Mantar, crowds were people of all age groups although young men and women dominated. Some looked sullen and distraught while others were visibly angry over the fate the young woman suffered.

As the Singapore hospital announced her death, authorities in Delhi deployed hundreds of police and paramilitary forces to foil demonstrations that had earlier turned violent leaving a policeman dead.

The mourners protested against the security lock down of India Gate and Raisina Hill where violent demonstrations were witnessed last weekend over the rape. "The government is not even allowing mourning of the death. This is insensitivity. There is complete lock down. You have the Metro stations shut. You have a road completely blocked. This is undemocratic," a protester Sunil said.

President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh led the nation in mourning the death of the young woman. Both Mukherjee and Manmohan Singh said the victim's death in a Singapore hospital would not go in vain, and that India should become a safer place for women.

A woman cries while attending a gathering of people who came together to mourn the death of the 23-year-old gangrape victim in New Delhi on Saturday, December 29, 2012.

A woman reacts while attending a gathering of people who came together to mourn the death of the 23-year-old gangrape victim in New Delhi on Saturday, December 29, 2012.

The victim was left, stripped and bloody, virtually for dead on that cold December night, so grievously injured that her intestines had to be taken out. The body will be flown back Saturday evening in a special aircraft.

Calling the young woman -- who had been communicating with her family till almost the end and said she did not want to die -- "a true hero", the President Pranab Mukherjee said she "symboliSes the best in Indian youth and women".

Questions also arose on why she was shifted to Singapore when her health was so precarious. And the government was the target. For lax policing that led to the incident and for taking the risky decision to move her.

"The girl of course was unconscious... I must say they (the family) bore the entire process with a great deal of fortitude and a great deal of courage," added India's High Commissioner to Singapore T.C.A. Raghavan.

The six accused, including one suspected juvenile, are in jail and all of society in the dock. All six will now face murder charge. The woman, only 23, passed away peacefully at 4.45 a.m. with her family and Indian diplomats by her side, Singapore's Mount Elizabeth Hospital official Kelvin Loh said. The trauma was "too severe for her to overcome", he said.

Eight specialists had struggled to save the doughty woman, whose father had to sell his ancestral land to fund her education. "She had suffered from severe organ failure following serious injuries to her body and brain," Kevin said. "We are humbled by the privilege of being tasked to care for her in her final struggle."

Policewomen stand guard at a check point after security was beefed up following the death of the gangrape victim, in New Delhi on Saturday, December 29, 2012.

A protester with his mouth covered with black cloth following the death of Delhi gangrape victim in Jantar Mantar on Saturday, December 29, 2012.

The Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangathan mourns the death of Delhi gangrape victim in Bhopal on Saturday, December 29, 2012.

The Bhopal Gas tragedy victims mourn the death of Delhi gangrape victim, who died on Saturday, December 29, 2012.

The Bhopal Gas tragedy victims pay tribute to Delhi gangrape victim in Bhopal on Saturday, December 29, 2012.

The Bhopal Gas tragedy victims hold placards during a prayer ceremony to mourn the death of the 23-year-old gangrape victim.

The Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangathan pays tribute to Delhi gangrape victim in Bhopal.

The Bhopal Gas tragedy victims hold banner during a prayer ceremony to mourn the death of the 23-year-old gangrape victim.

The Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangathan pays homage to Delhi gangrape victim.