SINGAPORE (AFP) – Indian
gang-rape victim has died
Saturday in Singapore after
suffering severe organ
failure, the hospital
treating her said, in a case that sparked widespread
street protests over
violence against women. Authorities in India have
been preparing for the
possibility her death could
ignite more protests after
riot police were deployed
on the capital’s streets in the wake of the attack
amid simmering anger at
the daily dangers women
face. The 23-year-old was
airlifted to Singapore on
Thursday after she was
attacked by six men on a
bus in New Delhi on
December 16, and hit with an iron bar. Some Indian
medics had criticised the
decision to move her. “We are very sad to report
that the patient passed
away peacefully at 4.45 am
(2045 GMT) on 29 Dec
2012,” Kelvin Loh, the chief
executive of Singapore’s Mount Elizabeth Hospital,
said in a statement. “Her family and officials
from the High Commission
of India were by her side.
The Mount Elizabeth
Hospital team of doctors,
nurses and staff join her family in mourning her
loss.” She had remained in an
extremely critical condition
since being admitted to the
hospital, Loh said, with
doctors mounting a last-
ditch battle overnight to save her life. “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,” Loh said. “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. File Photo: Abia gang rape saga “We are humbled by the
privilege of being tasked to
care for her in her final
struggle.” The victim was treated in
Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital
after the attack. The decision to fly her out
of the country by air
ambulance was taken at a
meeting of Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh’s cabinet
on Wednesday and the government had promised
to pay all her medical bills. Home Minister Sushilkumar
Shinde said the
government’s only concern
was to ensure the victim
received “the best
treatment possible”. But Indian newspapers
suggested the authorities,
who have struggled to
contain the nationwide
protests over the attack,
were keen to have her transferred out of the
country. An unnamed doctor who
was part of a team of
experts consulted about
the transfer told The Hindu
newspaper they had only
been asked whether it was safe to move her and not
whether it was the best
course of action. “The question was not
whether there were any
deficiencies in treatment
that would be met by
moving her… She was
being given the best possible care,” the doctor
was quoted as saying. Samiran Nundy, chairman
of the organ transplant and
gastro-surgery department
of Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram
Hospital, told the paper the
transfer made little sense. “I just can’t understand
why a critically ill patient
with infection in blood and
body, high grade fever and
on the ventilator is being
transferred,” he said. Singh has ordered an
official inquiry into the
gang-rape and new laws to
protect women as well as
stiffer penalties for the
worst sex crimes. The government has also
announced plans to post
the photos, names and
addresses of convicted
rapists on official websites
to publicly shame them. The campaign will begin in
Delhi, which has been
dubbed India’s “rape
capital”. Shinde also said Delhi
police would soon launch a
drive to recruit more
female officers as a
confidence-building
measure. India was rocked by a wave
of protests in the week
after the attack, prompting
authorities to seal off large
parts of the capital and to
deploy riot police with water cannons tear gas. The Delhi gang-rape has
shone the spotlight on a
crime that occurs on a daily
basis in India, with most
such assaults taking place
in rural areas. Police said on Friday that a
15-year-old schoolgirl had
had her throat slit after
being gang-raped in the
Pali Muqimpure area of
Uttar Pradesh state. A hunt has been launched for
three youths after the
attack the previous day.http://vanguardngr.com

may the molesters rot in hell for their crime

RIP