National outrage erupts over gang rape in India

(Dec. 19, 2012) In India, the brutal gang rape of a 23-year-old student on a bus in New Delhi on Sunday has sparked outrage across the country, with Indian parliamentarians demanding the death penalty for those responsible. The unusual outpouring of anger also prompted calls for greater protection for women in a country, where crimes against women are treated with apathy and rarely prosecuted, activists say. The girl was attacked on Sunday evening, after she and a male friend boarded a bus with tinted windows in south Delhi. Seven men on the bus allegedly attacked the pair with iron bars, raped the girl and then threw them off the vehicle, which had passed through several police checkpoints. The girl is currently fighting for her life in hospital. Police have since arrested four people, including the bus driver. The savagery of Sunday’s alleged rape, sparked uproar in parliament on Monday, with women members sobbing amid demands for the death penalty to be imposed for those found guilty of the crime.
Official sources say as many as 572 rape cases were reported in Delhi last year, while over 600 cases have been registered by police so far this year. Rape in India carries a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison. In the Lower House, the leader of the opposition, Sushma Swaraj said "those convicted in such cases should be hanged." Other members of the House voiced their agreement. Similar sentiments were echoed in the Upper House when Samajwadi (Socialist) Party member, Jaya Bachchan, demanded that rape be treated on a par with murder. Federal Home Minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde, assured lawmakers the case would be pursued vigorously