Delhi rape case

Is that what Delhi is? I am ashamed of my city. Are Delhi women safe? Suddenly, I have my doubts. I have chills down my spine when I read about it. Have I been living in some illusion about Delhi, its safety, etc? This Delhi rape case is by far the worse. It is a slap on the face of every Indian, every Delhite.

Pseudonyms have been used for her- Amanat (after the Indian TV soap opera Amanat), Nirbhaya (fearless one), and Damini (after the 1993 Hindi film Damini).

A female physiotherapy intern was beaten and gang raped in Delhi on 16 December 2012, and died thirteen days later while undergoing emergency treatment in Singapore for brain and gastrointestinal damage from the assault. She and a male companion boarded a bus in South Delhi in the evening after watching a movie, and were assaulted by five passengers already aboard. She was taken to Safdarjang Hospital, received multiple surgeries, and was placed on mechanical ventilation. On 26 December, she was moved to Singapore for further treatment, and she died on 29 December.

As of 21 December 2012, six men, including the bus driver, have been arrested. The incident has generated international coverage and was condemned by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, who called on the Government of India and theGovernment of Delhi "to do everything in their power to take up radical reforms, ensure justice and reach out with robust public services to make women’s lives more safe and secure". Public protests took place in Delhi, where thousands of protesters clashed with security forces. 

The victims, a 23-year-old physiotherapy intern and her male friend, were on their way home after watching a movie in Saket in South Delhi. They boarded a bus that was being driven by joyriders at about 9:30 pm. The woman became suspicious when the bus deviated from its normal route and its doors were shut. When she objected, the group of six men already on board taunted the couple, asking what they were doing alone at such a late hour.

When the victim's friend tried to intervene, he was beaten, gagged and knocked unconscious with an iron rod. The men then dragged the woman to the rear of the bus, beating her with the rod and raping her while the bus drove. Medical reports later suggested that the woman suffered serious injuries to her abdomen, intestines and genitals due to assault and doctors say that the damage indicates that a blunt object (suspected to be the iron rod) may have been used for penetration. That rod was later described by police as being a rusted, L-shaped implement of the type used with a wheel jack. After the beatings and rape ended, the gang threw the two from the moving bus, and one of the perpetrators later cleaned the vehicle. Police impounded it the next day.

The woman and her companion were found by a passerby on the road, partially clothed and unconscious, around 11 pm. The passerby phoned Delhi Police, who took the couple to hospital, where the woman was given emergency treatment and placed on mechanical ventilation.

On 19 December 2012, the damaged intestines of the victim were resected due to risk of gangrene, and she received intravenous nutrition and medication. On 21 December 2012, the government appointed a committee of physicians to ensure she received the best medical care. By 25 December 2012, she remained intubated, onlife support and in critical condition. Doctors stated that the internal bleeding had been controlled to an extent, but her increased bilirubin level (suggesting hepatic dysfunction or hemolysis) was a "serious cause of concern".

At a cabinet meeting chaired by Manmohan Singh on 26 December, the decision was made that she would be flown to the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore for further care. Mount Elizabeth is a multi-organ transplant specialty hospital.

The decision to move the patient while she was still in critical condition has been criticized for being purely political. Doctors have questioned the need to transfer an ICU patient for organ transplants that were not scheduled for weeks or even months later.

During the six-hour flight by air-ambulance to Singapore, at 30,000 feet, the victim suddenly went into a near collapse. Her blood pressure dipped alarmingly, and doctors on the flight had to create an arterial line to stabilize her. That the doctors were able to perform this procedure in-flight was considered a medical feat. However, the victim never regained consciousness in Singapore.

On 28 December 2012, at 11 AM (IST), her condition was "extremely critical" and the Chief Executive Officer of the Mount Elizabeth Hospital said that the woman suffered brain damage, pneumonia, abdominal infection, and that she was "fighting for her life."Her condition continued to deteriorate, and she died at 4:45 AM on 29 December,Singapore Standard Time.

Six men have been arrested in connection with the incident: Ram Singh, the bus driver, and his brother, Mukesh Singh, were both arrested in Rajasthan; Vinay Sharma, an assistant gym instructor, was arrested in Delhi, as was Pawan Gupta, a fruit seller; Raju, a minor, who was detained by the police in Budaun, Uttar Pradesh; and Akshay Thakur, a man who had gone to Delhi seeking work, who was arrested in Aurangabad in Bihar.

Ram Singh was presented before the Metropolitan Magistrate on 18 December 2012.

Mukesh Singh, who was placed in Tihar Jail after his arrest, was assaulted by other inmates. Jail authorities denied reports that he had also been forced to consume human excreta and urine. They placed him in solitary confinement for his own protection.

Ram and Mukesh Singh are from Ravi Dass Camp, a slum in South Delhi.

Controversy arose when, after delivering the written speech live on television, the Prime Minister was heard asking his staff theek hai? (is it all right?), while still on air. Social media flooded with satirical posts criticising the sign-off of the Prime Minister. The hashtag #TheekHai became the top trending term on Twitter in India for that day.

The police said the men were looking for some fun. They had been drinking, having a party, and decided to go on a joy ride. They began circling the capital in a private bus, the police said, when they spotted a couple looking for a ride home. They waved the man and woman onboard and charged them each 36 cents.

And then, the police said, the men beat the couple with an iron rod and repeatedly raped the woman as the bus circled the city. The woman suffered severe injuries to her head and intestines and required multiple operations, local news media reported, indicators of an assault so savage that India’s capital on Tuesday was shaking with public outrage. Protesters encircled a local police station and blocked a major highway. India’s Parliament erupted in angry protests and condemnation.

The rapists recorded the assault on their cellphones and threatened to kill her if she told anyone. But the family came forward after the videos circulated and her father killed himself by drinking pesticide.

Indian news media reported that they had seen a film together.