A woman who was gang-raped and beaten on a bus in India died last night at a Singapore hospital.
The 23-year-old woman’s horrific ordeal shocked the whole world.
The young woman has been in a critical state since the attack, suffering multiple organ failure and a heart attack. Despite the efforts of top specialists at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital, she last night lost her battle for life.
Since the incident, both men and women have lined the streets of India in mass protests demanding greater protection for women from sexual violence that impacts thousands of them every day.
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 hospital said.
Indian 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 and appealed for peace in the country.
She and a male friend were traveling in a public bus on December 16th when they were attacked by six men who raped her and beat them both. They also inserted a rod into her body, stripped them both naked and threw them off the bus on a road.
The news of her death comes as another rape victim in India is believed to have committed suicide after police took 14 days to register her case and a further 30 days to make an arrest.
Police have arrested six people in connection with the attack and they are all remanded in custody. The Indian government responded to days of violent protest at the attack by promising to make public the photographs, names and addresses of convicted rapists.
The woman chief minister of India’s West Bengal state Mamata Banerjee, unveiled plans today for 65 all-female police stations.
