Gang rape victim dies

[MaryL]

No mention of this sad incident on the USMB? New Delhi Woman raped and dies from the injuries.

 

[Rat in the Hat]

There is already a thread about this.

http://www.usmessageboard.com/current-events/270040-indian-gang-rape-victim-has-died.html

 

[MaryL]

I was numbed and sickened . Her name was Jyoti Sing Pandey. What happened to her was evil.

 

[waltky]

Indian women takin' self-defense classes...

Delhi women take steps to ensure their safety
Wed, Jan 23, 2013 - Women in India’s capital are taking self-defense classes, snapping up pepper sprays, booking cabs with female drivers or leaving work early, all signs of growing insecurity following the brutal gang rape and murder of a student last month.

The assault on the 23-year-old — who was raped by six people and tortured with an iron bar on a bus, then left bleeding on a highway — stunned the nation and generated an unprecedented wave of protests calling for better security for women. In response to the public outrage, authorities have initiated several measures to instill confidence, but many women say they cannot rely on India’s often gender-insensitive and under-resourced police force to ensure their security. “It’s no secret that Delhi is unsafe for women. A lot of us have known it for a long time, but this case has brought things to light,” said Sunanda Jalote, 18, a psychology student, attending her first self-defense class with Invictus Survival Sciences in South Delhi. “It really has hit the confidence of women in the city. We don’t want to feel like that. We want to be able to go out wherever we want, at any time of day or night, and feel safe. So you have to learn how to defend yourself,” Jalote added.

New Delhi, with a burgeoning population of 16 million, has the unsavory reputation of being the country’s “rape capital,” recording more rapes annually than any other Indian city. There were 706 rapes reported last year, a 23 percent rise from the previous year, according to the Delhi police, while molestation cases rose by 11 percent to 727. Private companies running self-defense classes in the capital say they have had a flurry of requests since the Dec. 16 attack. “Since the incident happened, the number of inquiries and enrolments has shot up considerably ... by about 40 percent,” said Ankur Sharma, senior instructor at Invictus, adding that most are from female students or professional women between the ages of 18 and 35.

Sharma added that many business process outsourcing (BPO) companies, especially those that employ women working late shifts, have been booking week-long self-defense workshops for their employees. A survey conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India earlier this month found that 80 percent of women working in Delhi’s BPO/IT sectors were leaving work earlier than usual, affecting work productivity. The poll, which questioned 2,500 women in the capital and its environs, said most women feared taking public transport such as buses, auto-rickshaws or the subway after sunset. This is reinforced by the surge in bookings of taxi operator “Sakha Cab Services,” a women-only taxi service with female drivers, which says the number of cab bookings has increased by 35 percent over the last month.

For those who cannot afford private taxis or self-defense classes, pepper spray has been the answer. Grocery stores, chemists and even cosmetic shops in Delhi’s centrally located Connaught Place say the brightly colored spray cans have been flying off shelves since the gang rape, selling up to five times more than usual. Authorities in Delhi have announced a raft of measures to help women feel safer on the city’s streets. These include a 24-hour helpline for women in distress, instructions to all BPOs to ensure female employees return home from work safely, more policing on the streets and a crackdown on drunk driving.

More Delhi women take steps to ensure their safety - Taipei Times

See also:

Indian panel pushes new laws after fatal gang rape
Jan 23,`13 -- A government panel recommended India strictly enforce sexual assault laws, commit to holding speedy rape trials and change the antiquated penal code to protect women after a fatal gang rape in New Delhi last month galvanized the public.

The panel received more than 80,000 suggestions for a complete overhaul in the criminal justice system's treatment of violence against women since the government set it up a month ago to help quell street protests sparked by the rape. The suggestions included banning a traumatic vaginal exam of rape victims to ending political interference in sex crime cases. Women say they feel under siege and are so frightened they have structured their entire lives to protect themselves from harassment and attack. Many travel in groups, go out of their homes only during the day and carry sharp objects to stab men who grope them on public buses.

Those who are raped are often blamed by their families for the attack. If they report the crime, the police often refuse to file a report or try to get the victim and attacker to reach a settlement. If it reaches court, the case can drag on for years in the overburdened justice system. "Failure of good governance is the obvious root cause for the current unsafe environment, eroding the rule of law and not the want of knee-jerk legislation," said retired Chief Justice J.S. Verma, who headed the three-member panel.

The panel recommended to the government Wednesday that police and other officials who fail to act against crimes against women be punished. It called for a crackdown on dowry payments to enhance women's status, since families are often forced into massive debt to get their daughters married. It also suggested the government appoint more judges to lessen the backlog of cases and ensure swift justice, and it called for updating the law to include crimes such as voyeurism and stalking. "We hope the Parliament will take the legislative suggestions given by the committee," and translate these into law, Verma said.

Verma advocated strict punishment to prevent sexual harassment and assaults against women and sought reforms in how police treat rape victims. He called for speedy justice and the setting of a time frame to deal with cases of crimes against women. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's office had no immediate comment about what it would do with the recommendations. More than 100 women's rights activists, lawyers and ordinary citizens appeared before the commission during a recent hearing to offer suggestions for removing loopholes in the existing laws and scrapping some of its most offensive provisions. Activists and lawyers have criticized the existing laws on crimes against women as so archaic and riddled with loopholes that they end up further traumatizing victims and allowing perpetrators to get away lightly.

MORE

 

[waltky]

Trial begins in a closed courtroom with opening arguments...

Trial in India gang rape begins in special court
Jan 24,`13 -- The trial of five men charged with the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a New Delhi bus began in a closed courtroom with opening arguments by the prosecution lawyers in a special fast-track court set up just weeks ago to handle sexual assault cases.

The brutal attack last month set off protests across India and opened a debate about its epidemic of violence against women. A government committee established because of the attack has called for a complete overhaul of the way the criminal justice system deals with rape, sexual assaults and crimes against women in general. The five men on trial - who face a maximum sentence of death by hanging if convicted - covered their faces with woolen caps as they walked into the courtroom Thursday surrounded by a phalanx of armed police. Two hours later, after proceedings were over, they were whisked away by the police.

Details of the proceedings were not available because of a gag order against revealing what happens inside the courtroom, and court officials who provided some information to The Associated Press spoke on condition of anonymity because of the order. Closing courtrooms to the public and the media is routine in Indian rape cases, even though defense lawyers had argued that since the victim is dead, the proceedings in this case should be opened. Judge Yogesh Khanna turned down requests by journalists that they be briefed on the day's proceedings and said the gag order would remain.

Since Friday is a public holiday in India, the next hearing in the case was set for Monday, when the defense will present its opening arguments. A sixth suspect in the case has claimed he is a juvenile and is expected to be tried in a juvenile court. On Thursday, a magistrate separately rejected a petition by Subramanian Swamy, a prominent politician, that no leniency be shown toward the accused who claims to be a juvenile because of the brutal nature of the crime, said Jagdish Shetty, an aide to Swamy.

Documents presented by prosecution last week to the Juvenile Justice Board indicated that the defendant was a juvenile at the time of the attack, which would make him ineligible for the death penalty. Magistrate Geetanjali Goel is expected to rule on the suspect's age on Jan. 28. The suspect, who is not being identified by The Associated Press because he says he is 17, would face three years in a reform facility if convicted as a juvenile.

MORE

 

[waltky]

Gang rape suspects being tried in special fast-track court...

Trial in Indian gang rape begins in special court
Sun, Jan 27, 2013 - The trial of five men charged with the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a New Delhi bus began in a closed courtroom with opening arguments by the prosecution lawyers in a special fast-track court set up just weeks ago to handle sexual assault cases.

The brutal attack last month set off protests across India and opened a debate about its epidemic of violence against women. A government committee established because of the attack has called for a complete overhaul of the way the criminal justice system deals with rape, sexual assaults and crimes against women in general. The five men on trial — who face a maximum sentence of death by hanging if convicted — covered their faces with woolen caps as they walked into the courtroom on Thursday surrounded by a phalanx of armed police. Two hours later, after proceedings were over, they were whisked away by the police.

Details of the proceedings were not available because of a gag order against revealing what happens inside the courtroom, and court officials who provided some information spoke on condition of anonymity because of the order. Closing courtrooms to the public and the media is routine in Indian rape cases, even though defense lawyers had argued that since the victim is dead, the proceedings in this case should be opened. Judge Yogesh Khanna turned down requests by journalists that they be briefed on the day’s proceedings and said the gag order would remain.

The next hearing in the case was set for tomorrow, when the defense will present its opening arguments. A sixth suspect in the case has claimed he is a juvenile and is expected to be tried in a juvenile court. Dozens of police were outside the sprawling court complex in south New Delhi where the trial is taking place. Inside the court, about 30 policemen blocked access to the room where Khanna heard the prosecution’s case. Outside the courtroom, scores of journalists and curious onlookers crowded the hallway.

Prosecutor Dayan Krishnan warned defense lawyers that if they spoke to journalists, he would slap contempt of court notices on them, defense lawyer V.K. Anand said. Police say the victim and a male friend were attacked after boarding a bus on Dec. 16 as they tried to return home after an evening showing of the movie Life of Pi. The six men, the only occupants of the private bus, beat the man with a metal bar, raped the woman and used the bar to inflict massive internal injuries to her, police said. The victims were dumped naked on the roadside, and the woman died two weeks later in a Singapore hospital.

Trial in Indian gang rape begins in special court - Taipei Times

 

[waltky]

Not guilty pleas entered in Delhi gang-rape case...

5 accused men plead not guilty in India gang rape
Feb 2,`13 -- Five men pleaded not guilty Saturday after being formally indicted in a special court on 13 charges, including rape and murder, in the fatal gang rape of a woman in a New Delhi bus, a lawyer said.

The men signed statements in the fast-track court saying they were innocent of all charges, said one of the men's lawyers. The lawyer cannot be identified under a gag order imposed by the court. The men were indicted on 13 counts, including rape, murder, destroying evidence and kidnapping. The court will begin hearing the evidence of witnesses on Tuesday. If convicted, the five men, who are in their 20s and 30s, could face the death penalty. A sixth suspect, who is 17, will be tried in a juvenile court and could face a maximum sentence of three years in a reform facility if convicted.

Police say the victim and a male friend were attacked after boarding a bus Dec. 16 as they tried to return home after watching a movie. The six men, the only occupants of the private bus, beat the man with a metal bar, raped the woman and used the bar to inflict massive internal injuries to her, police say. The victims were dumped naked on the roadside, and the woman died from her injuries two weeks later in a Singapore hospital. The brutal attack set off nationwide protests, sparking a debate about the treatment of women in India and highlighting the inability of law enforcement agencies to protect them.

Also on Saturday, women's groups across the country slammed a decision by the government to bring changes in India's rape laws through an ordinance. A government panel set up after the outcry over the gang rape and weeks of street protests by students and women examined India's criminal justice system's treatment of violence against women. After examining more than 80,000 submissions, the panel, headed by retired Chief Justice J.S. Verma, came out with a 630-page report recommending amendments to the laws governing crimes against women.

On Friday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Cabinet approved an ordinance to introduce stricter penalties for crimes against women, including death in extreme cases of rape. It also approved increasing the maximum seven-year sentence for rape to 20 years and imposing stiff punishments for crimes such as stalking, cyber stalking and voyeurism. The ordinance has to be signed by President Pranab Mukherjee to become law. It would then have to be passed by Parliament within six months. Women activists have accused the government of ignoring many key suggestions of the panel, including prosecuting army and paramilitary soldiers accused of sexual offenses and barring politicians facing rape charges from contesting elections.

MORE

 

[waltky]

Indian gang-rape victim family's hopes dashed...

Fatal gang rape shatters Indian family's dreams
Feb 3,`13 -- Her parents called her "bitiya," or little daughter. She was her family's biggest hope. In a country where women are routinely pushed into subservience, this 23-year-old who dreamed of becoming a doctor was going to lift them out of poverty.

"Without her we are lost," said her father, rocking on the edge of a bed in the family's tiny basement apartment, hugging himself as if to hold in the grief. The sadness enveloped him as he talked of his daughter, who died after she was gang-raped in a moving bus in New Delhi in December, a case that galvanized public anger in India over sexual attacks and the inability of authorities to stop them. Indian culture has a deeply rooted preference for sons, and many daughters are expected to spend their lives caring for first their brothers and later their husbands. Yet these parents encouraged their bright, hardworking daughter to shine. The time for the two younger boys would come later, when their sister had a toehold in life. "I never discriminated between my sons and daughter. I could see nothing else in this world but my children. They had to study at any cost," the father said, gracious even in his loss, handing steel cups of tea to a reporter.

Because of a legal gag order, the victim and her family cannot be identified until the end of the trial of alleged rapists. The family reflects a small but growing part of Indian society that is changing. When their daughter said she wanted to go away to study physiotherapy in a hill town far from New Delhi, her father didn't think of holding her back. He asked the older son, who is in his late teens, to delay enrollment at an engineering college until his sister finished her studies. Money was scarce, and she was first in line. "She was the hero of the film in our family. Always happy. Always laughing," the father said.

For most women in this country of 1.2 billion, there are few real choices. Tradition says they will get married and become mothers, preferably of boys. If they work, the money will go to their fathers or their husbands. The mistreatment starts early - with sex-selective abortions and even female infanticides that have skewed India's gender ratio to 914 girls under age 6 for every 1,000 boys. Girls get less medical care and less education than their brothers. Twenty-five years ago, the victim's father got through high school, left his north Indian farming village and moved to New Delhi to escape poverty. He is still poor, he admits freely, gesturing around the tiny bedroom that passes for a living room when guests arrive.

But he was able to give his children something else. "My own father could not educate me very much. He had no means. I wanted different things for my children." He struggled for years, working as a security guard and making parts for washing machines. Three years ago, he got a job as a baggage handler at the New Delhi airport. Since then he has worked 16 hours a day, six days a week for about 12,000 rupees ($220) a month. "We were struggling, but life was good," said the father, a heavyset man with graying hair in his mid-50s. The poor in India often don't have family photographs, and there are no pictures of the young woman in the damp two-room basement the family calls home.

MORE

See also:

Indian President approves death penalty for rape...

India president approves tough rape laws
4 February 2013 - The gang rape of the 23-year-old woman shocked India and sparked a debate about the treatment of women

India's president has approved harsher punishment for rapists, including the death penalty, after the gang rape of a student sparked demands for tougher laws. President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent on Sunday to new rape laws recommended by the government. Separately, five men have pleaded not guilty to the rape and murder of the student in a Delhi bus in December. The brutal gang rape caused outrage across the country. "The Indian president has given his assent to the ordinance on crime against women. It comes into effect immediately but it will also be tabled before the parliament," a senior officer in the president's office was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.

Although the laws are now in place as a result of this ordinance, a bill or bills with these amendments must be tabled in parliament within six weeks of the next session beginning - this is on 21 February. If this bill is not passed, the ordinance lapses and the new laws will no longer be valid. A government-approved panel which reviewed the country's laws on sex crimes and the cabinet had recommend tougher laws after the gang rape incident. The panel had called for faster trials and longer sentences for convicted rapists, but not the death penalty.

India imposes the death penalty only in the "rarest of rare cases" - in November, it hanged the only surviving gunman of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, the country's first execution in eight years. The new law, however, provides for death penalty in cases of rape that leads to death or leaves the victim in a "persistent vegetative state". Under the changes, the minimum sentence for gang rape, rape of a minor, rape by policemen or a person in authority will be doubled to 20 years from 10 and can be extended to life without parole. Under the existing laws, a rapist faces a term of seven to 10 years. The new laws also enhance punishment for offences like voyeurism, stalking and acid attacks.

Women's rights activists have, however, criticised the ordinance saying it is inadequate to fight sexual crimes against women. They also said it was wrong for the government to pass a law without holding a proper debate. The brutal assault on the 23-year-old woman on 16 December shocked India and sparked a debate about the treatment of women. Six suspects were arrested for the crime. Five of the accused are on trial at a specially convened fast-track court in Delhi. If convicted, they could face the death penalty. A sixth suspect, who is 17 years old, is to be tried by a juvenile court.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-21318648

 

[waltky]

Reports say more than 7,200 children, including infants, are raped every year in India...

India child sex victims 'humiliated' - Human Rights Watch
7 February 2013 - Child victims of sexual abuse in India are often mistreated and humiliated by police, says the US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a new report.

Government systems to deal with the issue of abuse are inadequate, it says. The report says sexual abuse is "disturbingly common" in Indian homes, schools and care homes. The Indian government has made no public comment about the report's findings - it does not respond to such reports as a matter of policy. A government study in 2007 reported that two out of every three children in India were physically abused and that 53% of the nearly 12,300 surveyed children reported one or more forms of sexual abuse. Other reports say more than 7,200 children, including infants, are raped every year in India. Child rights activists believe many more cases go unreported.

'Dismissed, ignored, mistreated'

The 82-page report - Breaking the Silence: Child Sexual Abuse in India - was released in the Indian capital, Delhi, on Thursday morning. It says that the authorities are failing to protect children both from sexual abuse and also when it comes to treating victims. "Children who bravely complain of sexual abuse are often dismissed or ignored by the police, medical staff, and other authorities," said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director of HRW. The report says that many children are "mistreated a second time by traumatic medical examinations and by police and other authorities who do not want to hear or believe their accounts".

It says that government efforts to tackle the problem, including new legislation to protect children from sexual abuse, will also fail "unless protection mechanisms are properly implemented and the justice system reformed to ensure that abuse is reported and fully prosecuted". Campaigners say children are sexually abused by relatives, neighbours, at school and at care homes for orphans and that most of the cases go unreported because in India's traditional system, parents and families are afraid of attracting social stigma. In May last year, India's parliament passed the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act which, for the first time ever in the country, made all forms of child sexual abuse a criminal offence.

This law made it possible for an abuser to be prosecuted for molestation and non-penetrative sex, in addition to rape. Until then, many abusers could escape punishment because non-penetrative sex was not recognised as rape. The law also shifted the burden of proof onto the abuser and recommended setting up special courts to try cases of child abuse. But campaigners say that better laws alone will not help - what is needed is a change in the prevailing social attitudes and the way the police, medical officials and the judiciary deal with cases of sexual abuse of children.

BBC News - India child sex victims 'humiliated' - Human Rights Watch

 

[whitehall]

It ain't rape unless the government says so. Who cares what happens in India?

 

[waltky]

New Delhi must be the rape capital of the world...

Indian police: 3 sisters, aged 5-11, raped, killed
Feb 21,`13 -- Indian police said Thursday that they have launched a manhunt for men suspected of raping and killing three sisters, aged 5 to 11, in the latest case of sexual violence to grip the country.

The sisters' bodies were found in a village well in Bhandara district in Maharashtra state on Feb. 14 after they had gone missing from school, police officer Javed Ahmed said. The area is more than 1,000 kilometers (630 miles) south of New Delhi, the capital.

As the victims' mother accused police of a shoddy investigation, enraged villagers forced shops to close, burned tires and blocked a national highway passing through the area for several hours on Wednesday, demanding justice. "The police did not take the case seriously and did nothing for two days," the CNN-IBN television news channel quoted the mother as saying. Her name was withheld. One police officer has been suspended for not acting promptly, Indian Heavy Industries Minister Praful Patel, who represents Bhandara district in Parliament, told reporters in New Delhi. "It is unacceptable. All of us have to hang our heads in shame," Patel said.

Cabinet Minister Manish Tewari called the killings a `'very, very heinous assault" and announced that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was sending 1 million rupees ($18,300) to the family. The central government has asked state investigators to keep them informed of the investigation. The fatal gang rape of a young woman in a moving bus in New Delhi on Dec. 16 set off nationwide protests about India's treatment of women and spurred the government to hurry through a new package of laws to protect them.

The gang rape victim and her male friend, who also was badly beaten up in the attack, were dumped naked on the roadside, and the woman died from her injuries two weeks later in a Singapore hospital. Five men are being tried on rape and murder charges in that case. A new law enacted by the government has increased the sentences for rape from the existing seven to 10 years to a maximum of 20 years. It also provides for the death penalty in extreme cases of rape that result in death or leave the victim in a coma. It has also made voyeurism, stalking, acid attacks and the trafficking of women punishable under criminal law.

Source

 

[waltky]

What a buncha animals these rapists are...

Delhi protest over 'sex attack' on seven-year-old girl
1 March 2013 - There have been violent protests in the Indian capital, Delhi, after a seven-year-old was allegedly sexually assaulted at a school.

Police used batons to break up angry crowds outside a hospital where the girl had been taken for treatment. Teachers and security guards at the government school are being questioned over the alleged assault, police said. The gang rape and murder of a student on a Delhi bus in December sparked protests across India. Hundreds of people gathered to protest outside the Sanjay Gandhi hospital in the Mangolpuri area of northern Delhi as news of the alleged sex attack in a local school spread. Protesters attacked buses and pelted police with stones.

Dr Sanjay Kumar, one of those who helped treat the girl, said her injuries were consistent with rape, reports the AP news agency. Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit called the attack "shameful", reports the AFP news agency. "Rape inside a school is a shocking incident," she said. The protests came as India's parliament held an angry debate over the rape and murder of three sisters, aged six to 11, in the state of Maharashtra last month. No-one has been arrested and opposition MPs criticised the slow pace of the investigation. Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said one policeman had been suspended for not acting quickly enough after they had been reported missing.

Their bodies were found in a well two days after disappeared from their school. 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 deny charges over the case which shocked the nation - five in a specially convened fast-track court. They face the death penalty, while a juvenile charged this week could be sentenced to three years in a reform facility.

BBC News - Delhi protest over 'sex attack' on seven-year-old girl

 

[waltky]

Indian women fightin' back at sexual violence with smartphone apps...

Indian women use smartphones to ‘pin creeps’
Mon, Mar 04, 2013 - With virtual bodyguards, panic buttons and maps to pinpoint harassment blackspots, women in urban India are using their smartphones for protection after a notorious gang-rape in New Delhi.

Interest in safety apps and Web sites has surged since the fatal December attack, in which a 23-year-old student was set upon by a drunken gang on her way home from a cinema in the Indian capital. After outrage and protests erupted, four businesswomen set up Safecity.in, a Web site for victims of harassment. The site encourages them to “Pin the Creeps” by reporting incidents of harassment and abuse — ranging from catcalling to rape — which are added to an online map and sent to those requesting alerts. Mumbai-based Elsa D’Silva, a founder of the site, said social media had allowed women to speak out and warn others of dangerous areas, even if they are reluctant to give their name or make a complaint to the police. “Now you feel more empowered to do something about it, even if it’s just sharing your experience,” D’Silva said.

The Web site has linked up with new mobile app SafeTrac, developed by tech firm KritiLabs and downloadable for free, which has an SOS button to alert emergency contacts and lets relatives or friends track the user’s journey. It joins a host of similar apps designed to reassure women, especially those working late and traveling alone — that is, if they can afford mobile Internet access. The first such Indian app was FightBack, launched by non-profit trust Whypoll a year before the Delhi attack, since when it has gone free of charge and seen a flurry of downloads. Whypoll founder Hindol Sengupta said they were now working on a “next generation” app that will include guidance for reporting abuse. “Women often don’t know their legal rights when they go to the police station and they can be further violated there,” he said. “The kind of people who have reached out to us for information has astounded me.”

A government commission, set up to prevent sex crimes after the Delhi attack, recommended the development of mobile phone apps for sending distress signals to police. Even in Mumbai, considered one of India’s safest cities, police launched their own ICE (In Case of Emergency) app in January and say they have seen thousands of downloads, although its practicality has been criticized. A piece in the DNA newspaper pointed out that many women in India cannot afford a basic mobile phone, let alone the Android device required. “Also, when in distress, how often do we get time to take the phone out of our bag, unlock it and open an application to let people know we are in trouble?” it asked.

Technology clearly has its limits: It cannot fulfill the need for decent law enforcement, or change attitudes toward women and while the Indian smartphone market is rising rapidly — expected to soon become the world’s third-largest — it still accounts for a fraction of about 700 million active mobile subscriptions in the country. Most safety apps require GPS capabilities that standard mobile phones do not have, although some developers offer emergency texting services. Techies and activists hope that if their tools catch on, they might one day act as a deterrent to abuse. “If word gets out there are such apps, people wanting to molest someone will have to be more careful,” Desai said.

Indian women use smartphones to ?pin creeps? - Taipei Times

 

[proudveteran06]

No mention of this sad incident on the USMB? New Delhi Woman raped and dies from the injuries.

\


They should be put to Death

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

Gang rape suspects being tried in special fast-track court...

Trial in Indian gang rape begins in special court
Sun, Jan 27, 2013 - The trial of five men charged with the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a New Delhi bus began in a closed courtroom with opening arguments by the prosecution lawyers in a special fast-track court set up just weeks ago to handle sexual assault cases.

The brutal attack last month set off protests across India and opened a debate about its epidemic of violence against women. A government committee established because of the attack has called for a complete overhaul of the way the criminal justice system deals with rape, sexual assaults and crimes against women in general. The five men on trial — who face a maximum sentence of death by hanging if convicted — covered their faces with woolen caps as they walked into the courtroom on Thursday surrounded by a phalanx of armed police. Two hours later, after proceedings were over, they were whisked away by the police.

Details of the proceedings were not available because of a gag order against revealing what happens inside the courtroom, and court officials who provided some information spoke on condition of anonymity because of the order. Closing courtrooms to the public and the media is routine in Indian rape cases, even though defense lawyers had argued that since the victim is dead, the proceedings in this case should be opened. Judge Yogesh Khanna turned down requests by journalists that they be briefed on the day’s proceedings and said the gag order would remain.

The next hearing in the case was set for tomorrow, when the defense will present its opening arguments. A sixth suspect in the case has claimed he is a juvenile and is expected to be tried in a juvenile court. Dozens of police were outside the sprawling court complex in south New Delhi where the trial is taking place. Inside the court, about 30 policemen blocked access to the room where Khanna heard the prosecution’s case. Outside the courtroom, scores of journalists and curious onlookers crowded the hallway.

Prosecutor Dayan Krishnan warned defense lawyers that if they spoke to journalists, he would slap contempt of court notices on them, defense lawyer V.K. Anand said. Police say the victim and a male friend were attacked after boarding a bus on Dec. 16 as they tried to return home after an evening showing of the movie Life of Pi. The six men, the only occupants of the private bus, beat the man with a metal bar, raped the woman and used the bar to inflict massive internal injuries to her, police said. The victims were dumped naked on the roadside, and the woman died two weeks later in a Singapore hospital.

Trial in Indian gang rape begins in special court - Taipei Times

Did it come out the five men were Muslims? - Jeremiah

 

[waltky]

One down, five to go...

Police: Delhi gang rape suspect kills self in jail
Mar. 10,`13 — The main suspect in the gang rape and fatal beating of a woman on a New Delhi bus, an attack that horrified Indians and set off national protests, committed suicide in jail Monday, police officials said.

Ram Singh, who is accused of driving the bus on which the 23-year-old student was raped and fatally assaulted by a group of six men in December, hung himself with his own clothes, said G. Sudhakar, the top police official at Tihar jail. Singh, along with four other men on trial with him on rape, murder and abduction charges, had been under a suicide watch, another jail official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. He said the five were being held in separate cells in separate buildings at the jail.

If convicted, the men could face the death penalty. The sixth accused is being tried and jailed separately because he is a juvenile. Singh's lawyer, A. P. Singh, confirmed his client's death, saying he died at 5:30 a.m. He alleged that police maleficence led to his client's death. "What do you mean killed himself? He has been killed in prison," Singh said. Lawyers for the men have previously accused police of beating confessions out of their clients. Indian jails have a reputation for overcrowding, poor management and brutal treatment of inmates.

The woman and a male friend were attacked after boarding the bus Dec. 16 as they tried to return home after watching a movie, police say. The six men, the only occupants of the private bus, beat the man with a metal bar, raped the woman and used the bar to inflict massive internal injuries to her, police say. The victims were dumped naked on the roadside, and the woman died from her injuries two weeks later in a Singapore hospital.

The brutal attack set off nationwide protests about India's treatment of women and spurred the government to hurry through a new package of laws to protect them. Singh's death comes as the trial was deep underway, with another hearing scheduled for Monday. There was no word if that would be affected.

Police: Delhi gang rape suspect kills self in jail

 

[waltky]

Indian parliament passes tough new rape laws...

Indian bill on tough rape laws passed by parliament
19 March 2013 - A bill containing harsher punishments for rapists, including the death penalty, has been passed by India's lower house of parliament.

It comes after the fatal gang rape of a student in Delhi in December sparked demands for tougher laws. Last month, the government introduced the new rape laws in an ordinance. After a seven-hour debate on Tuesday, members of the lower house gave their assent to the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill. It now passes to the upper house. The legislation contains new penalties for stalking, groping, voyeurism and acid attacks. However, Indian newspapers reported a low turn-out for Tuesday's vote, even though various parties had pledged their commitment to making the provisions in the bill become law. The lower house, or Lok Sabha, was mostly empty when the vote took place, reports said, with Congress President Sonia Gandhi, her son and party Vice-President Rahul Gandhi - as well as other senior ministers - prominent among the absentees.

The Delhi gang rape sparked a demands for more to be done to protect women

One well-known MP - Janata Dal (United) leader Sharad Yadav - voted against the bill, arguing that criminalising stalking and voyeurism could result in more false cases being filed against men. The proposed new law will retain the age of consent for sex at 18 years. The age of consent had been 16 years for three decades before the government raised it in its ordinance in February. The government had proposed bringing it down to 16 again, amid fears that a higher age of consent would be "misused" by parents who disapproved of their daughters' consensual relationships with boys. Some political parties had protested against a return to the lower age limit.

The new laws also prescribe the death penalty - which is carried out very rarely in India - in cases of rape that cause death or leave the victim in a vegetative state. "[The] time has come to send out a loud, clear and deterrent signal that the society will not tolerate such errant behaviour," Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said, emphasising that the bill was being introduced to plug loopholes in the law. Under the changes, the minimum sentence for gang rape, rape of a minor, rape by policemen or a person in authority will be doubled to 20 years and can be extended to life without parole. Under the existing laws, a rapist faces a term of seven to 10 years.

BBC News - Indian bill on tough rape laws passed by parliament

 

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Award winning Indian writer on the lam after being accused of rape...

Indian author flees after being accused of rape, police say
Sat, Mar 30, 2013 - CHARITY: Five women have accused the award-winning writer of raping them after promising to make them permanent employees at his school

An award-winning Indian writer is on the run after five women who worked as cooks at a charity school he founded accused him of rape, police said yesterday. Laxman Mane, 63, disappeared after the women filed complaints earlier this week, alleging that he had repeatedly assaulted them between 2003 and 2010, mostly on the school premises in Maharashtra. “He has been on the run since the first case was filed at midnight on Monday,” said Amol Tambe, additional superintendent of police in the state’s Satara District, where Mane was living. “A new complaint was filed on Wednesday. We have dispatched police teams to trace him,” Tambe said by telephone.

TRUST

Mane is executive president of the trust that runs the school for underprivileged children. The case comes at a time when India is under fire for its treatment of women following the fatal gang-rape of a student on a bus in New Delhi in December and a series of other sexual assaults. Mane, who writes in the local Marathi language, was awarded the Padma Shri — one of India’s highest civilian awards — for his contribution to vernacular literature in 2009.

His autobiography titled Upara (Outsider) bagged the prestigious Sahitya Akademi (National Academy of Letters) award in 1981. The women, aged between 30 and 35, claimed Mane raped them in the school’s office, storeroom and canteen as well as at a government-run guesthouse, after promising to make them permanent employees. A clerk at the school has been accused of abetting.

CONSPIRACY

Mane’s family has dismissed the charges as baseless. “Some of the employees of the school seem to have conspired to implicate my father in a false case,” Mane’s son Bhai was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India news agency.

Indian author flees after being accused of rape, police say - Taipei Times

 

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4 year old rape victim dies...

4-year-old MP rape victim dies in Nagpur hospital
April 29, 2013 - The four-year-old girl, who was brutally raped in Ghansaur town in Seoni district of Madhya Pradesh on April 17, died of cardiac arrest at around 7:45pm at a hospital in Nagpur on Monday night, a hospital spokesman said.

"We have informed the MP government about the death of the girl. Her body was sent to the government run medical college and hospital for a post mortem," said Sriram. The body will be handed over to her parents after the post mortem and would be taken to Ghansaur on Tuesday morning.

According to Madhya Pradesh police, the girl was allegedly raped by a 35-year-old Firoz Khan on April 17 in Ghansour, after which he dumped her at a farm. The girl's parents found her unconscious the next morning and she was taken to Netaji Subhash Chandra Medical College and Hospital in Jabalpur. However, the girl was brought to Nagpur by an air ambulance and admitted to Care Hospital in Ramdaspeth area shortly before midnight on April 20.

The 35 year old accused, who works in a private power plant in Madhya Pradesh, was arrested from Hussainabad area of Bihar's Bhagalpur district. The accused was apprehended by the police after monitering his cellphone details.

Source

 

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Gang rape suspects being tried in special fast-track court...

Trial in Indian gang rape begins in special court
Sun, Jan 27, 2013 - The trial of five men charged with the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a New Delhi bus began in a closed courtroom with opening arguments by the prosecution lawyers in a special fast-track court set up just weeks ago to handle sexual assault cases.

The brutal attack last month set off protests across India and opened a debate about its epidemic of violence against women. A government committee established because of the attack has called for a complete overhaul of the way the criminal justice system deals with rape, sexual assaults and crimes against women in general. The five men on trial — who face a maximum sentence of death by hanging if convicted — covered their faces with woolen caps as they walked into the courtroom on Thursday surrounded by a phalanx of armed police. Two hours later, after proceedings were over, they were whisked away by the police.

Details of the proceedings were not available because of a gag order against revealing what happens inside the courtroom, and court officials who provided some information spoke on condition of anonymity because of the order. Closing courtrooms to the public and the media is routine in Indian rape cases, even though defense lawyers had argued that since the victim is dead, the proceedings in this case should be opened. Judge Yogesh Khanna turned down requests by journalists that they be briefed on the day’s proceedings and said the gag order would remain.

The next hearing in the case was set for tomorrow, when the defense will present its opening arguments. A sixth suspect in the case has claimed he is a juvenile and is expected to be tried in a juvenile court. Dozens of police were outside the sprawling court complex in south New Delhi where the trial is taking place. Inside the court, about 30 policemen blocked access to the room where Khanna heard the prosecution’s case. Outside the courtroom, scores of journalists and curious onlookers crowded the hallway.

Prosecutor Dayan Krishnan warned defense lawyers that if they spoke to journalists, he would slap contempt of court notices on them, defense lawyer V.K. Anand said. Police say the victim and a male friend were attacked after boarding a bus on Dec. 16 as they tried to return home after an evening showing of the movie Life of Pi. The six men, the only occupants of the private bus, beat the man with a metal bar, raped the woman and used the bar to inflict massive internal injuries to her, police said. The victims were dumped naked on the roadside, and the woman died two weeks later in a Singapore hospital.

Trial in Indian gang rape begins in special court - Taipei Times

Did it come out the five men were Muslims? - Jeremiah

Pretty sure they were heterosexual men.