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New Delhi: Hundreds of
protesters, mostly young people, came out on the streets Thursday
after two days of relative peace, demanding strict rape laws, even
as the gang-rape victim was in "an extremely critical condition"
in a Singapore hospital.
The 23-year-old victim was admitted to the Mount Elizabeth
Hospital in Singapore early Thursday after her condition
deteriorated in the Safdarjung Hospital here. Hospital chief
executive Kelvin Loh said in a statement in the evening that the
young woman remains in "an extremely critical condition".
"Prior to her arrival, she has already undergone three abdominal
surgeries and experienced a cardiac arrest in India," said Loh.
"A multi-disciplinary team of specialists is taking care of her
and doing everything possible to stabilise her condition."
The young woman was admitted in Safdarjung Hospital since Dec 16.
She was flown out late Wednesday night to Singapore accompanied by
her parents and a team of doctors from India.
Hundreds of protesters, mostly women, held a sit-in demonstration
in the capital to demand better safety and security for women in
the country.
The protesters had started their march from Nizamuddin in south
Delhi and were headed towards India Gate, the venue of massive
protests and violence on Sunday, but were stopped on way by
policemen.
The protesters, under the banner of 'Justice for Women Now' - a
forum of women activists and NGOs - staged a sit-in near India
Gate. They raised slogans such as "Ignore my lipstick and listen
to what I'm telling you", "Justice for all rape survivors",
"Hanging is not a solution to woman assault" and "Remove Delhi
Police commissioner".
Besides demanding justice for the rape victim, the angry crowd
also demanded that all rape victims be given justice within 100
days.
They also demanded that the government should call a special
session of parliament to discuss stringent rape laws.
The national capital has been witnessing anti-rape protests at
India Gate after the 23-year-old trainee physiotherapist was
tortured and raped in a moving bus Dec 16.
The controversy over the death of a policeman following Sunday's
violent protests took a fresh turn Thursday with another "witness"
turning up, with a story backing the Delhi Police claim of
injuries to the policeman.
The three, who said they were witness to constable Subhash Chand
Tomar collapsing, were questioned by the crime branch of Delhi
Police Thursday.
Yogendra Tomar, a journalism student, and Pauline, a witness in
her 20s, have both said the constable collapsed while chasing the
crowd and that he was not beaten or trampled upon by the
protesters.
The third witness, Salim Alvi, 31, claimed that Tomar was beaten
up by protesters.
Constable Tomar, 47, collapsed near Tilak Marg during the
anti-rape protest around India Gate Sunday and died of cardiac
arrest early Tuesday.
The case of the constable's death was handed over to crime branch
Wednesday.
The post-mortem report of the policeman said he had multiple
injuries on his neck and chest.
T.S. Sidhu, medical superintendent at the Ram Manohar Lohia
Hospital, where Tomar died, had said Wednesday that the constable
had "no major external injury marks except for some cuts on his
right knee and bruises on his chest" and "was brought here in a
total collapsed stage".
Delhi Police have asked the hospital to provide the medical
reports based on which Sidhu said Tomar had no external injuries.
Police are also collecting video footage from news channels to
establish the sequence of events during the protest on Dec 23.
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