India gang rape victim's body cremated

Indians participate in a candlelight vigil as they mourn the death of a gang rape victim in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012. Indian police charged six men with murder on Saturday, adding to accusations that they beat and gang-raped the woman on a New Delhi bus nearly two weeks ago in a case that shocked the country. / AP Photo/Altaf Qadri

Last Updated 12:23 p.m. ET

NEW DELHI A young woman who died after being gang-raped and beaten on a bus in India's capital was cremated Sunday amid an outpouring of anger and grief by millions across the country demanding greater protection for women from sexual violence.

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The cremation took place during a private ceremony in New Delhi soon after the woman's body arrived in the capital on a special Air India flight from Singapore, where she died at a hospital Saturday after being sent for medical treatment.

The tragedy has forced India to confront the reality that sexually assaulted women are often blamed for the crime, forcing them to keep quiet and discouraging them from going to authorities for fear of exposing their families to ridicule. Police often refuse to accept complaints from rape victims, and the rare prosecutions that reach courts can drag on for years.

CBS News' Sanjay Jha reports that the victim, who has not been named, was a physiotherapy student. She underwent three surgeries and suffered cardiac arrest and brain injury. After 10 days at a hospital in New Delhi, the victim was taken Thursday to Singapore's Mount Elizabeth hospital, which specializes in multi-organ transplants, but her condition worsened. She died Saturday.

A chartered plane, sent by the Indian government, carried her body home, along with members of her family.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi, head of the ruling Congress party, were at the airport to receive the body and meet the family members.

The body was taken to her residence and religious rituals were performed before it was removed to a crematorium amid heavy police deployment. Security was tight, with no access to the public or media.

Hours after the victim died early Saturday, Indian police charged six men who had been arrested in connection with the attack with murder, adding to accusations that they beat and gang-raped the woman on a New Delhi bus on Dec. 16.

New Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said the six suspects face the death penalty if convicted, in a case that has triggered protests across India and raised questions about lax attitudes by police toward sexual crimes.

• India gang-rape suspects to face murder charges
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Among India's big cities, writes Jha, New Delhi scores highest in the number of sex crimes, with a rape reported on average every 18 hours, according to statistics provided by India's homeland security department.

Yet, while there have been as many as 754 arrests in 635 cases of rape reported to Delhi Police between January and November - the highest in past five years - there has been only one conviction, government data show.

Government data also show that the nation's reported rape cases rose by nearly 17 percent between 2007 and 2011.

Following the victim's death, thousands of Indians lit candles, held prayer meetings and marched through various cities and towns, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata, on Saturday night to express their grief and demand stronger protection for women and the death penalty for rape, which is now punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment.

But even as thousands mourned the rape victim's death and in a sign of how pervasive such crimes are, police in West Bengal state were investigating another suspected gang-rape and death.

In the latest case, the family of a woman said she and her husband were attacked by six men as they returned home after working at a brick factory.

They dragged the woman into a nearby farm after pouring acid into her husband's mouth, the family said.

The woman was found dead with multiple injuries, said police officer Bhaskar Mukherjee, adding he was waiting for an autopsy report.

No charges have been laid. Another police officer, Sugata Sen, said four men had been detained for questioning.

The alleged attack is similar to the Dec. 16 case, where the woman and a male friend, who also has not been identified, were on a bus after watching a film when they were attacked by six men who raped her. The men beat the couple and inserted an iron rod into the woman's body, resulting in severe organ damage. Both were then stripped and thrown off the bus, according to police.

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[shiley.px]

It's so sad. Hope the lady lay in peace.

[shiley.px]

It's so sad. Hope the lady lay in peace.

[taxchurches]

All gone! Never happened.

[vidyasriGS]

This recent horrific gang rape in Delhi can be a watershed event for the world's largest democracy. Unprecedented protesting in the capital city has put increasing pressure on lawmakers to crack down on enforcement and fast-track the court system. It will take too long and cost too many lives unless we come together as civic and corporate communities to unite and empower real change. We need the support of American companies doing business in India.
I am suggesting that the horrible death and painful suffering of this young woman and the thousands like her who go unreported require us to model the values of a global community who will condemn such violence and ensure safe spaces for women and men in the communities we serve. Please sign this petition asking American companies doing business in India to condemn this horror and ensure public safety. Link: http://www.change.org/petitions/american-companies-doing-business-in-india-condemn-the-horrific-gang-rape-in-delhi-ensure-public-safety

[alaskan1st]

Is there anyone here that doesn't agree that gang rape deserves death sentence penalty?

[rseepersaud]

Yes but first they should be publicly flogged, castrated, all their assets be transferred to the victims family THEN death.

I would prefer if the victims family got to choose the method of execution.

[alaskan1st]

Is there anyone here that doesn't agree that gang rape deserves death sentence penalty?

[paradisehope]

This is really sad and further proof that we are living in what the Bible describes as the last days. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 describes what people would be like in the last days. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (New International Reader's Version)Terrible Times in the Last Days
3 Here is what I want you to know. There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will love themselves. They will love money. They will brag and be proud. They will tear others down. They will not obey their parents. They won't be thankful or holy. 3 They won't love others. They won't forgive others. They will tell lies about people. They will be out of control. They will be wild. They will hate what is good.
4 They will turn against their friends. They will act without thinking. They will think they are better than others. They will love what pleases them instead of loving God. 5 They will act as if they were serving God. But what they do will show that they have turned their backs on God's power. Have nothing to do with those people.

The Good News is that better times are just ahead and God will step in by means of his Kingdom Government under Christ Jesus and bring an end to all of the atrocities we are seeing and experiencing today. He will undo all the damage that has been done including what happened to that poor girl and that couple.
Psalm 37:9-11 9 For evildoers themselves will be cut off, But those hoping in Jehovah are the ones that will possess the earth. 10 And just a little while longer, and the wicked one will be no more; And you will certainly give attention to his place, and he will not be. 11 But the meek ones themselves will possess the earth, And they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.

[CaliforniaDude]

This is equivalent to domestic terrorism.

Time for India to put its money where its mouth is, I say Public Hanging would be fine. (Make sure it is quick and don't use the insanity defense)

[alaskan1st]

OK men of Delhi, Now is the time to prove to the world that you have testicles. Here's you opportunity to rid your city of rapists. Straight razors will do the job quite well. It's up to you because no one else can do it for you. Don't forget to mark them with an X on their heads. Shame should last forever. You know rapists, so go get them.

[Jonseen]

Both of these attacks were so vile and violent that it seems rape AND murder were the intent all along. Two gangs of murderers who tortured before they killed. And the bus attack happened right out in public, on a moving bus, during early evening hours. It's not like the young couple was partying in the middle of the night; it was only 8 pm. Even though the crime would have been unacceptable at ANY time, the time and location add to the utter horror of it.

Why would any man be willing to sink this low, I don't understand it. These killers in India now have the contempt, the scorn, the hatred of the entire world leveled at them. Everyone wants them dead... the shame for their families must be unbearable. I do hope that others will think of the consequences and change their ways.