Delhi rape case: Demand for death penalty for rapist's increases, Delhi Police take some protesters into custody

New Delhi:  April 21 (ANI): Even as the public clamours for giving the death penalty to rapists, police in Delhi took several protesters into preventive custody on Sunday.

A demonstrator fell unconscious while protesting the brutal rape of the five-year old girl in New Delhi, and demanding more safety for women.

An irate protester, Shikha Rai, said the police and the government should take adequate security measures for the safety of women in the country.

She added: "Our demand is to make safe a safe place for women. We elect government for the security and safety of the people and if they or if Delhi police are unable to provide that security that I think, we will have to come out and take care of ourselves."

Meanwhile, reports of protests against the rape of a five-year-old are coming in from other parts of the country.

Protesters took to the streets raising slogans, demanding a harsh punishment for the man suspected of raping the five-year-old girl who is battling for her life at a hospital in New Delhi.

To express solidarity with the five-year-old girl, protesters shouted slogans against Delhi Police and the Union government demanding the resignation of Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar.

An agitated protester, Neelam said, "We are demonstrating against the brutal incident done by an animal like human being with the small girl. We demand resignation of Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar, as during his tenure, another horrifying incident happened after the December 16 incident. Attitude of police has not changed. They still do not lodge FIR and the family of victims is asked to compromise and shut their mouth. We want to ask them as to what is their role? What is their duty? Is it to make the victim keep quite or to help them?"

Lashing out at United Progressive Alliance (UPA), a protester Sharda, urged the government to hang the accused.

"The biggest problem is that the culprits are not being punished due to which they are fearlessly raping women. I just want to say that in such cases, the culprits should be hanged to death or else women will have to find ways to protect themselves," said Sharda

A woman also fainted while raising her voice against the safety for women during the protest. She was immediately taken to the hospital for treatment.

The victim, whose parents work as labourers and live in the eastern neighbourhood of Delhi, went missing on April 15.

Police found her with bruise marks on her body in the suspect's house in a semi-conscious condition on Thursday after her parents had registered a complaint.

Delhi police had arrested the 25-year-old man for the rape of the child from arrested from Muzaffarpur town in India's eastern state of Bihar. The man was taken into transit custody to be brought to New Delhi.

The rape, which left the young girl in a critical condition, revived memories of the brutal gang rape by five adult men and a teenaged boy of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student on a bus on December 16 in New Delhi. That woman died of her injuries.

Earlier Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in a statement that he was deeply disturbed by the latest incident. In December his administration had faced criticism for failing to respond to public anger over the horrific attack on the physiotherapy student.

Singh's government passed tougher laws to fight gender crimes in March, putting in place new provisions and tougher punishments, which include criminalising voyeurism and stalking and making acid attacks and human trafficking specific offences.

Source: http://in.news.yahoo.com/delhi-rape-case-demand-death-penalty-rapists-increases-121825672.html

Delhi gang rape trial sparks Indian media frenzy

Digital media have been barred, but print journalists wait outside to swarm lawyers, the accused and their families

BY MARY KENNEY

Indian children participate in a protest against child abuse and rising crimes against women, in Bhubaneswar, India, Saturday, March 16, 2013. (Credit: AP/Biswaranjan Rout)

This article originally appeared on GlobalPost.

NEW DELHI, India — Across town from the district courthouse, employees of Ambedkar University’s Center for Community Knowledge argued about India’s most infamous trial.

“The defense lawyers are saying, ‘well, you know, she was out late,’” said Ranjani Prasad, 24, gesturing with her hands and clearly irritated.

Her co-worker, 26-year-old Anoushka Mathews, nodded thoughtfully and crossed her arms. “It might actually work,” she said. “The judge might listen to that.”

On trial are four of the six men accused of gang raping a young woman on a New Delhi bus in December, a crime that made headlines around the world and forced a typically uninterested Indian judicial system to take action.

One of the two not being tried is 17 years old and in juvenile court. The other is Ram Singh, the bus driver branded as the group’s ringleader. He was found hanging by a noose tied from prison clothes in his cell on March 11.

The victim, Jyoti Singh Pandey, 23, was brutally beaten, raped, tortured and then left for dead. She later succumbed to her injuries in a Singapore hospital.

The crime — and now the trial — has brought the issue of sexual violence into the public sphere in India like never before. Reacting to the public uproar, the government passed a law in March allowing the death penalty for repeat offenders or for rapes that led to a victim’s death, such as the Pandey case.

The case has for months been splashed across Indian newspapers and broadcasts, and has inspired news features on sexual assaults. The scene both inside and outside the courtroom is frenzied. Digital media have been barred, but print journalists wait outside to swarm lawyers, the accused and their families.

Manohar Lal Sharma, one of the defense lawyers, stops every time to feed quotes to the hungry press. He has become famous for his angry outbursts and controversial remarks, blaming the victim for the attack. Earlier this week, he stormed out of the courtroom, furious that authorities wanted to bring one of the defendants, who had been hospitalized with chest pains, back to court to stand trial.

“They have no sympathy for Mukesh,” Sharma complained to a group of journalists, referring to Mukesh Singh, the bus driver Ram’s brother.

Sharma, along with Singh’s parents, believe Ram’s death was murder, not suicide. They cite the injuries reported on his hands and the fact that he was under a suicide watch. He shared his cell with three other men, and it seems suspicious, the family says, that they all claim to have slept through his hanging.

Sharma said the police are now being irresponsible again, trying to yank Mukesh from his hospital bed to sit in a courtroom.

“One person they have murdered,” he told the gathered journalists, shaking his head, “and now they’re doing it to another one.”

Vijay Sansanwal, another defense lawyer, wrote off the possibility that Ram Singh was murdered. Ram had three children and a wife who left him after the details of the case came out, he said. He nodded, as if that explained everything.

The trial is on hold until the question of whether Mukesh is healthy enough to stand trial is resolved. In the meantime, speculation continues about how the case will ultimately unfold.

Among the Indian public, few feel any sympathy for any of the defendants. Though many support the government’s new law to impose the death penalty, some fear it could backfire.

Sagolsem Pavel Meitei and Priyanka Singh are master’s students in gender studies. They worry that implementing the death penalty or castration, another suggestion from the public, would make the conviction rate for sexual assaults plummet.

Pavel worries the men could be found not guilty because the burden of proof is so much higher in a trial that carries a sentence of capital punishment.

“Plus [the accused] have sympathy points,” Priyanka added. “They say, ‘look, one has already killed himself.’”

Priyanka doesn’t believe the men will be put to death. She thinks the case will be drawn out as political parties use it to garner popularity.

Pavel spoke rapidly and had to pause several times to gather his thoughts about Pandey’s trial and the larger issue of sexual assault.

“It isn’t just about justice for her,” Pavel said. “It’s about changing how sexual assault is seen in India.”
Priyanka interrupted him, “This concept of women in distress, so passive and weak … it’s just pathetic. It doesn’t help in any way. It victimizes the women again.”

Source: http://www.salon.com/2013/03/28/delhi_gang_rape_trial_sparks_media_frenzy_in_india_partner/

Over 80 per cent rape cases pending in courts: Supreme Court

In Tamil Nadu alone, 677 rape cases were registered in 2011

AFP

New Delhi: More than 80 per cent of rape cases were pending in courts across the country while in Tamil Nadu alone two such cases were registered everyday in 2011, Supreme Court Judge Justice P Sathasivam said today.

Seeking more proactive role by women lawyers particularly against domestic violence and gender discrimination, he said, "Women lawyers' role becomes vital in such areas as those involving domestic violence, child abuses and gender discrimination."

Participating in the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Women Lawyers Association here, he said according to the 2011 report of National Crime Record Bureau "statistics reveal that the percentage of trials pending in rape cases (across the country) is 83.6 per cent".

Further, there are about 677 rape cases which had been registered in Tamil Nadu in 2011, aggregating up to two cases being registered everyday. Women lawyers have a greater role to play (in such situations), he said.

Supreme Court Judge Justice Fakkir Mohamed Ibrahim Kalifulla said, "Exploitation of women is reality. Women emancipation lies in the awareness about their (basic) rights." Praising women lawyers for their talent and inherent sensitivity, former Chief Justice of Madras High Court and Supreme Court Judge M Y Eqbal said women had made their mark in the legal profession.

Source: http://news.in.msn.com/her_courage/over-80-per-cent-rape-cases-pending-in-courts-sc-1

Molested UP girl dies in Delhi hospital

IANS | Mar 16, 2013, 12.12 PM IST

Molested UP girl dies in Delhi hospital

LUCKNOW: A 15-year-old girl who had set herself on fire after being sexually harassed by a boy in Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad town died at a Delhi hospital Saturday, police said. 

The girl died at Safdarjung Hospital after infection spread to her vital organs owing to the burn injuries. 

Senior Superintendent of Police Neelabjo Chowdhary told IANS over telephone that a complaint was registered by the victim March 11 and three people were arrested the next day. 

Chowdhary said now an additional charge of abetment to suicide would be slapped against the accused. 

The girl had accused a neighbour, Danish, of harassing her. But pressure was mounted on her family to withdraw the complaint. 

Taken aback by the developments and hurt by the pressure on her family, the frustrated girl doused herself with kerosene and set herself on fire in Moradabad, some 160 km from New Delhi, police said.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Molested-UP-girl-dies-in-Delhi-hospital/articleshow/19002318.cms

Freed in rape case, man seeks damages

ByAbhinav Garg, TNN | Mar 16, 2013, 03.34 AM IST

NEW DELHI: Even as he petitions the Supreme Court for "return of dignity", the man acquitted in the Mayapuri rape case is pursuing a suit in the Delhi high court, where he has demanded around Rs 5 crore as compensation. 

Niranjan Kumar Mandal was acquitted in the Mayapuri rape case by a trial court but was again picked up by the police as a suspect in the 2010 Dhaula Kuan gangrape case. He was later released on the direction of the high court after his wife filed a petition saying her husband was arrested despite the fact that the police were clueless in the case. 

Mandal wants the SC to aid in his rehabilitation so that he can lead a normal life. 

In the compensation suit, which he filed in HC in 2011, Mandal alleged he was framed by the police in the Mayapuri gang rape case. He arraigned the state government, the police commissioner and Om Wati, the then SHO of Hari Nagar police station, as respondents. He sought a CBI inquiry into his framing and subsequent custodial torture in the case. The case is now before a joint registrar's court. 

Seeking Rs 10 lakh as interim compensation, Mandal told HC that he was forced to leave Delhi after his release as he feared that the police might kill him in a fake encounter to suppress the truth. He also claimed he was picked up by the police on the pretext of questioning and was later tortured in the lock-up. The police in its reply rebutted the allegations claiming these are a "figment of Mandal's imagination". Seeking dismissal of his suit, Delhi Police argued that Mandal was acquitted by the trial court as he got 'benefit of doubt' and was arrested on basis of evidence that was "enough to show his involvement" in the rape case. Through government counsel Anjum Javed, the police maintained they have no "personal grudge" against Mandal but were only investigating the case as per their official duty. 

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Freed-in-rape-case-man-seeks-damages/articleshow/18998296.cms

Cabinet Clears Anti-Rape Bill

NEW DELHI: Amid the government's keenness to enact a tough law to tackle crimes against women, the Union Cabinet today cleared a bill providing for stringent punishment for rape, acid attack, stalking and voyeurism besides reducing the age of consent for sex to 16 years.

The approval of the Cabinet paves the way for introduction of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013 in Parliament before it goes into recess on March 22, which is necessary as it will have to replace an Ordinance which will expire on April four.

The bill, brought against the backdrop of the December 16 Delhi gangrape, provides for minimum jail term of 20 years for rape which may be extended to 'natural life' of the convict in jail or even death if the victim dies or is left in a 'persistent vegetative state'

The bill also provides for lowering the age of consent for sex from 18 to 16 years, one of the contentious provisions which held up the proposed legislation briefly and had to be referred to a Group of Ministers for consensus.

The Ordinance had maintained the consent age as 18 years.

The bill also uses the term 'rape' which will be gender- specific, in contrast to the gender-neutral 'sexual assault' as proposed in the ordinance. This means only men can be booked for the crime.

Stalking and voyeurism have been defined as criminal offences in the bill. Sustained stalking will be a non- bailable offence.

The bill had divided the Cabinet at its special meeting on Tuesday and was referred to a GoM to sort out differences on various aspects of the proposed law.

The GoM finalised the draft yesterday amidst the government's keenness to expedite the bill that will replace an ordinance promulgated on February 3.

The measure, on the lines of the ordinance, has not touched on the issue of making marital rape a separate offence.

Against the backdrop of parties like the Samajwadi Party having serious reservations on certain provisions of the ordinance claiming they are prone to misuse, the government has convened an all-party meeting next week to discuss the bill cleared by the Cabinet today.

Source: http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=792421

Anti-rape Bill deferred second time in six days, referred to group of ministers

ByVishwa Mohan, TNN | Mar 12, 2013, 11.10 AM IST

NEW DELHI: Differences of opinion over the draft Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill - seeking to reintroduce the word 'rape' instead of 'sexual assault' in the anti-rape law and lower the age of consensual sex from 18 to 16 — forced the government to defer it again on Tuesday, second time in six days. 

Anti-rape bill deferred second time in six days, referred to GoM

The special cabinet, called to discuss the issue, referred the Bill to the empowered group of ministers (EGoM) to sort out differences within the government. It is learnt that the age of consent - lowering it from 18 to 16 - is the major hitch as the ministry of women and child development is not fully convinced of the proposal of the home ministry. 

Finance minister P Chidambaram will head the EGoM which will try to finalise the draft Bill as early as possible because the government is supposed to pass new legislation — replacing the existing Ordinance — before March 22 when both the Houses of Parliament adjourn for a month-long recess. 

It is learnt that the law ministry has expressed reservations over the home ministry's draft replacing 'sexual assault' with 'rape' while the ministry of women and child development expressed strong reservation against bringing down the age of consent from 18 to 16 years. 

"The Bill has to stand the scrutiny of Parliament and later judiciary. A consensus is must for the government before moving ahead. In all likelihood, the draft Bill will not undergo major changes now and will soon be brought before Cabinet," said an official. 

The home ministry's draft has, in fact, reversed what the previous Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2012 and the Ordinance on Criminal Law, 2013 had done in the case of the two contentious provisions and preferred to go by the recommendation of the Justice JS Verma committee's recommendation which insists on retaining the word 'rape' in the law. 

The ordinance — making the anti-rape law much more stringent — was promulgated by the President on February 3 in the wake of public outrage over the December 16 gang-rape of Nirbhaya. Making sexual crimes gender neutral, the ordinance replaced 'rape' with 'sexual assault' in tune with provisions of the pending Bill. 

The EGoM has to bring the fresh draft before the Cabinet as early as possible because government needs to bring it to Parliament within six weeks of the ordinance getting promulgated. 

Bringing down the age of consent from 18 to 16 years is opposed by the WCD ministry since it will be run contrary to a recent law protecting children from sexual offences and the Child Marriage (Prohibition) Act. 

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, which was passed by Parliament last year, was enacted following recommendations by a parliamentary panel and a range of experts suggesting that the age of consent provision was being misused for child trafficking for sex, labour and domestic work. The WCD ministry had also reasoned that the provision was used to slap false cases against young couples who were targeted for not conforming to social norms. 

The ministry had faced the wrath of child rights activists at the time who felt that stringent punishment like life imprisonment for sexual assault could be used to criminalize teenage sex, making any intercourse below 18 years of age an offence under this law.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Anti-rape-Bill-deferred-second-time-in-six-days-referred-to-group-of-ministers/articleshow/18923675.cms

Centre to lower bar for consensual sex to 16 years

TNN | Mar 12, 2013, 01.43 AM IST

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet is set to clear a bill seeking to replace the post-Nirbhaya case ordinance dealing with crime against women which will reduce the age for consensual sex to 16 and reinstate "rape" as an offence specifically committed against women.

The government has resolved differences on the two contentious aspects of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013, bowing to the demands of women's groups who protested against the ordinance's provisions making "sexual assault" a gender neutral crime.

Now, the perpetrator in a crime of rape will be male while the victim female according to the law to be considered by the Cabinet on Tuesday.

Settling divergent views on the age of consent was a more difficult task as the women and child development ministry pointed out that a recent law to protect kids deems anyone below 18 as a minor.

Official sources said there would be no contradiction between the two laws as Supreme Court has said in cases of alleged elopement where the girl has acted in accordance to her free will, the age of consent to be considered is 16.

While the issue is likely to be debated by the Cabinet, the ministry of home affairs has taken the view that criminalizing sex in the 16 to 18 age group is not warranted as it fails to take into account changing sexual mores.

With sexual contact between teens of this age increasingly common in both urban and rural areas and across social strata, it was felt a tough law could be misused to settle scores or allow conservative opinion to harass youngsters.

The law to protect children against sexual abuse deals with incidents where no consent has been obtained and the criminal law amendment bill will not allow offenders a legal loophole, sources said.

The bill could also make rape by those in authority punishable by life sentence extending to the abuser's "natural life". Another likely change is making it mandatory for government and private hospitals to provide free medical assistance to victims of sexual crimes.

Home minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Monday said there were differences on "legal points" which were being addressed to and will be settled by Cabinet.

Asked about the fate of the proposed bill, Shinde said the law ministry had to vet all proposals before the government takes the next step.

Once approved by the Cabinet, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill will be introduced inParliament later this week and would be passed before March 22 when both the Houses adjourn for a month-long recess as is necessary if the ordinance is not to lapse.

The bill will replace the ordinance on criminal law which was promulgated on February 3 in the wake of public outrage over the December 16 gang rape incident.

The Justice J S Verma committee, who's report forms the basis of the ordinance, had supported lowering the age of consent to 16.

Times View

This newspaper has repeatedly argued that the change of the age of consent from 16 to 18 was a retrograde step and that it should be reversed. The changed law could have become a tool to harass teenagers rather than one that protects them. We had urged the government and Parliament to reconsider despite the law having been passed, because sticking to a bad law does not enhance the authority of the state, it diminishes it. We are glad that the government now intends to do just that. It would also be a good idea to decriminalise consensual sex even with girls below the age of 16 where the partner is less than 5 years older.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Centre-to-lower-bar-for-consensual-sex-to-16-years/articleshow/18917656.cms

Cabinet to consider anti-rape law today

The government proposes to make it mandatory for all hospitals in the country-public or private- to provide free of cost first aid and treatment to women victims of any sort of violence, including acid attack.

This new provision is part of the latest changes in the anti-rape laws 

to be considered by the Union cabinet in its special meeting on Tuesday. There is a sense of urgency in the government as it has to pass the criminal laws amendment bill before March 22 to avoid the relapse of the related ordinance.

The cabinet proposal mentions perpetrators as 'gender-specific' or men-shifting away from the initial plan of keeping them gender-neutrals. The proposed law, however, defines victims of sexual assault as gender-neutral. In other words, men can be tried for raping women or sodomizing boys under the law.

The other key amendment of the bill is that it replaces 'sexual assault' with 'rape' but in case of false complaints, provisions for strict penalties are also provided. At a recent meeting of political parties, several leaders had expressed concerns over the possibility of misuse of stricter anti-rape law.

Justifying the decision to replace 'sexual assault' with 'rape', the law ministry argued that "the term rape is widely accepted."  The government also intends to make provision so that penalty imposed on perpetrators can be used for funding the relief and rehabilitation of rape victims.

Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/cabinet-to-consider-anti-rape-law-today/Article1-1024786.aspx

10 years jail for Delhi minor's rapist

NEW DELHI, A Delhi court has jailed a man for 10 years for raping a minor girl in 2004 after luring her by offering to give her chocolates.

"Rape is...a crime against the entire society. It destroys the entire psychology of a woman and pushes her into deep emotional crisis," said Additional Sessions Judge Gulshan Kumar while sending Sajjan Singh, 48, to jail for raping his six-year-old neighbour.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs.20,000 on him.

The judged relied upon the testimony of the child and turned down the accused's plea that the conviction could not solely be based on her statement.

As per the prosecution, Sajjan Singh, a resident of Vasant Kunj area, called the girl, who lived in the same building as his, and her brother to his room in June 2004. He gave money to the girl's brother and sent him to market to buy chocolates and raped the girl in the room.

After the rape, Sajjan Singh offered milk to the girl and asked her not to disclose the incident to anybody, the prosecution said.

But two days later the girl told her mother about the incident and a police complaint was registered, the prosecution said.

The convict said he was implicated by the girl's parents as they had a quarrel over water issues a few days before the police complaint.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/10-years-jail-for-Delhi-minors-rapist/articleshow/18911733.cms

35-year-old woman alleges gangrape in moving car near Akshardham temple

A 35-year-old married woman was allegedly abducted and gangraped by six men in a moving car near Akshardham temple, on Sunday morning.

The incident was reported near Akshardham temple in East Delhi at 10 am, when the woman was walking on the road.

According to police, she was picked up by the accused who were inside a car.

"One of the men pulled her inside. The six men then took turns raping her. The woman has given us a few names that she heard while she was in the car. We are trying to verify them and identify the accused," a senior police officer told Newsline.

The men then dropped her outside Bhairon temple near Pragati Maidan.

The woman then approached Tilak Marg police station but since she was abducted from East Delhi, she was taken to Mandawali police station and a case was registered. Medical examination has confirmed sexual intercourse.

Two men named in the case are accused of raping her in 2012 . Police said the woman has filed three rape cases in the past 12 years.

Source:http://www.indianexpress.com/news/35yearold-woman-alleges-gangrape-in-mo.../1086133/

Innocence lost: College student rapes 5-year-old in south Delhi

Rape

A five-year-old girl was raped by her neighbour, a hotel management student, in Kapashera area of South-West Delhi on Friday. According to the police, the accused identified as Lalit (20) lives with his family near the victim’s house. He is studying at a prominent college in the Capital. The girl was playing outside her house in the afternoon when the accused allegedly spotted her and took her to a nearby empty plot on pretext of playing together. He allegedly raped her there. “He even threatened her of dire consequences if she reported the matter to anyone. Initially, the girl did not report the matter to her family. But when she could not bear the pain, she narrated her ordeal to her parents who immediately informed the police,” an official said. The victim was rushed to the nearby Safdarjung Hospital where medical tests confirmed rape. A case was registered at Kapashera police station. The accused was subsequently arrested. Meanwhile, the victim’s family reported that they have been living in constant fear since they registered the case as Lalit’s family was allegedly putting pressure on them to quash the FIR. “Lalit belongs to an influential family. They are continuously threatening us to take back our complaint. some unidentified persons pelted stones at our house last night,” the victim’s grandfather said.  Source: http://m.indiatoday.in/story/five-year-old-girl-raped-by-a-college-student-in-south-delhi-kapashera-area/1/257321.html

Further attacks on women in Delhi raise doubts over crackdown Incidents follow measures such as fast-track courts after gang rape and murder of student sparked outcry

• Jason Burke in Delhi
• guardian.co.uk, Thursday 7 March 2013 13.17 GMT

Indian women protest in New Delhi after the gang rape and murder of a student in December. Photograph: Dar Yasin/AP

A recent spate of attacks on women in Delhi has renewed fears over the safety of women in the Indian capital and raised doubts over the efficacy of reforms introduced since the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student in the city last December.

Two women are reported to have been raped by multiple attackers in moving cars in separate incidents in recent days. A third woman was robbed and then raped by two men after taking a motorised rickshaw in the satellite city of Ghaziabad at the weekend.

Four victims under 18 were also assaulted in incidents reported to the police over the past four days, according to local media. Only a fraction of such attacks are ever reported in India.

The gang rape and murder in December shocked the nation. Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in India calling for widespread legal and policing reforms as well as a wholesale shift in cultural attitudes towards women.

A series of measures – such as fast-track courts for sex crimes, harsher punishments for convicted offenders and gender training for policemen – have been introduced since the attack by authorities. The government was heavily criticised for its early lack of sympathy for protesters.

The finance minister last week announced a new fund of £120m to improve the safety and empowerment of India's women.

But reporting a 124% rise in reported rape cases in Delhi since the attack and a nearly sixfold rise in cases of harassment, the Hindustan Times newspaper said "the harsh reality is Delhi hasn't changed for the better, it has become worse".

Police officials say the rise is the result of officers taking complaints more seriously and a broader awareness in the city of what constitutes harassment. Five men and a juvenile are on trial for the attack on the student in December, which took place in a private bus moving on crowded roads on a Sunday evening.

The adults accused face the death sentence if convicted. Experts have suggested a variety of causes for the new wave of violence against women ranging from stereotypes of aggressive masculinity projected by Bollywood films to a clash of cultures as millions of men raised in rural areas arrive in cities where women enjoy greater freedoms. Conservatives blamed "westernisation", opposing a broadly rural, supposedly authentic India with an increasingly urban, globalised one.

Recent research in Delhi has revealed more mundane causes for high levels of violence and harassment. The lack of safe public transport in Indian cities is one major factor with "eve teasing", as sexual harassment is euphemistically known, endemic on overcrowded buses. A lack of toilet facilities in slum areas which forces tens of millions of women to use open ground at night is another.

A commission set up to examine possible measures to combat the wave of violence against women received tens of thousands of suggestions from the general public. In the southern state of Kerala officials areconsidering the distribution of "electronic bangles" which could send a signal to the nearest police station in the event of an assault.

There are some signs of change. Jason Temasfeld, an activist campaigning against sexual harassment in India's commercial capital of Mumbai, said there had been a "drastic change" in awareness in recent months. "Women know much more what to do and about their rights. And other people are much more vocal in reacting to harassment when they witness it. Even the police are more responsive," he told the Guardian.

The victim of the December attack was dubbed "Nirbhaya" or "the fearless one" by media in India for fighting back during the assault and for recording a statement despite massive internal injuries before she died. She will be posthumously awarded the US state department's international women of courage award on Friday by Michelle Obama, it was announced earlier this week.

19-yr-old school girl gangraped in moving auto

GHAZIABAD: When she flagged down a share auto-rickshaw, little did she know that she would be gagged, beaten, gang-raped, robbed and then dumped by three men near the busy Shipra Mall, an important landmark in Indirapuram. 

The 19-year-old woman did not feel uncomfortable to get into a shared auto-rickshaw, as it's a common practice in the area.

The men who raped the woman later confessed to the police that had stolen the vehicle.

NDTV quoted the woman saying that she cried for help for two hours but no one came forward to help her.

The channel also says that the auto rickshaw passed through six police posts.

Two of the three men involved in the incident have been arrested. "All three are in their twenties," Superintendent of Police Ghaziabad rural Jagdish Sharma said.

The class 12 student, who was raped by three men, had fought hard to save herself from her assailants, police here said.

Police claim the victim, who was on her way home after meeting a friend, was forced by two of the men - who posed as passengers - to sit between them. They gagged her once the vehicle developed some mechanical fault near Khoda colony, 2 km from the mall, and stopped.

Fault taken care of, the three-wheeler sped towards Ghaziabad city. And once it reached Galand, the men dragged the woman out, beat her up when she resisted, and then took turns to rape her, a police officer told HT.

Around 10.30pm, the three men fled the spot, but only after they had robbed the victim of whatever cash she had on her person and her mobile phone.

In her statement to the police, the girl mentioned that the rod on the window had broken; she also informed them that the vehicle had a black tarpaulin sheet that covered the windows and served as a curtain of sorts.

The girl had earlier resisted a diversion in the route of the vehicle - while the men had initially told her they were headed towards Delhi, they later took a U-turn and drove in the opposite direction.

When the girl questioned the change of direction in the vehicle, two of the men sat beside her and gagged her.

After raping her in the vehicle, the men dragged the 19-year-old out into the fields near Bankey Bihari Dental College and again raped her, taking turns. 

The vehicle's owner, Prem Singh, said three men in an inebriated condition had taken the vehicle from its driver, Pintu, in broad daylight on March 2.

The men had been driving to Delhi in the vehicle, and had stopped at Khoda for some repairs to the tempo. At around 8.30 p.m., they were near Shipra Mall.

After committing the crime, the men left the girl in the fields and fled.

They took with them Rs.400 that the girl had with her, her ATM card and mobile phone.

Source: http://in.news.yahoo.com/19-yr-old-school-girl-gangraped-in-moving-auto-114004900.html 

Two arrested over India Ghaziabad 'gang rape'

Police in a suburb of the Indian capital, Delhi, have arrested two men in connection with the alleged gang rape of a 19-year-old girl on Saturday.

The girl was travelling in an auto rickshaw in Ghaziabad when at least two of her co-passengers allegedly raped her, a senior police official said.Police say they are looking for a third suspect.The gang rape and murder of a student on a Delhi bus in December sparked protests across India.Reports in the Indian media said that the teenage girl had taken an auto rickshaw home on Monday evening near a busy mall in Indirapuram in Ghaziabad. Details of what happened next are still sketchy.

The girl apparently told the police that she was gagged, raped, robbed and thrown out of the vehicle near a highway. Last week, there were violent protests in Delhi after reports that a seven-year-old girl was sexually assaulted at a school. The principal and four employees of the municipal school have been suspended in connection with the case. There has also been angry debate in the parliament over last month's rape and murder of three sisters, aged six to 11, in the state of Maharashtra.

No-one has been arrested and opposition MPs have criticised the slow pace of the investigation. The issue of sexual violence against women and girls has been under intense scrutiny in India after the rape and murder of a student on a Delhi bus in December led to widespread protests. Six people have been charged over the case which shocked the nation. Five of them are on trial in a specially convened fast-track court and they face the death penalty. The sixth accused, a minor, is being tried in a juvenile court. He could be sentenced to three years in a reform facility. All the six accused have pleaded not guilty.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-21696101

Another rape in Delhi-NCR: Call centre employee abducted, gangraped in Gurgaon

Ajay Kumar
Gurgaon, Thursday, March 7, 2013 | 12:29 IST

In a shocking reminder of how vulnerable women are in the National Capital Region, a 24-year-old employee of Convergys BPO was abducted and gang-raped by two unidentified men in a moving car in Gurgaon on Wednesday evening.

According to the police, the woman had just finished her afternoon shift at 7 pm and was waiting for a cab outside her office at Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, when the incident occurred.

A car stopped near her and as she went closer thinking it was her office cab, she was abducted at gunpoint from the service lane. The accused drove for more than two hours on MG road and adjoining roads as they took turn to rape her. The victim was dumped around 10 pm near Old Gurgaon bus stand.

The distraught woman made a call to her office, which in turn informed the police.

Although the victim initially hesitated to register a complaint and undergo medical in Gurgaon tests, she was convinced later. On her complaint, the police have registered a case at DLF Phase-2 police station against unknown people. A medical examination has confirmed rape, police officials said.

"The victim was waiting for her office cab at service lane of the E-way, and mistook the Wagon R approaching towards her as her office cab. An unidentified person in the car pulled her inside and sped away," said Alok Mittal, police commissioner of Gurgaon.

The car occupants held her hostage at gun point and drove towards MG road via E-way.

The woman is a native of Hyderabad and lives in South Delhi with her husband. Police sources said the victim was initially too horrified to register a complaint, and had not deposed before the magistrate till late evening.

Ironically, the incident took place days after the IT-BPO industry led by Nasscom finished the celebration of Women Safety Month in February. Also, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi is visiting a village in Gurgaon on Friday and the security has been tightened in the Millennium City.

After the December 16 gang rape incident in the Capital, Nasscom had decided to celebrate February as Women Safety Month in solidarity with women. About 32 per cent of the workforce in Indian IT-BPO industry is women. At least 50 different programs, including the identification of less safer routes taken by the BPO employees, were organized by Nasscom in different campuses.

Earlier this year, the Delhi Police had requested the ministry of home affairs, to give them powers to arrest the cab drivers flouting rules related to safety of women under section 133 (1) b of the CrPC.

Source: http://m.indiatoday.in/story/gangrape-in-moving-car-call-centre-employee-abducted-in-gurgaon/1/256813.html