Delhi: Student gang-raped in bus in critical condition

In a shocking incident, a 23-year-old para-medical student travelling in a bus along with her male friend was allegedly gang-raped by four men inside the moving vehicle and they were thrown out after being brutally assaulted with an iron rod. The victim, who hails from Uttarakhand and pursues the course in the hill state, is in a critical condition at the Safdarjung Hospital where she was rushed along with her friend late Sunday night after the incident which sparked outrage.

Both the girl and her male friend, who had boarded the chartered bus with tinted glass windows from Munirka in south Delhi around 9.45 pm to Palam, were thrashed badly with an iron rod by the men after the two resisted before they were dumped on the road side near Mahipalpur flyover, police said today.

Police have identified four people, who allegedly raped the girl, and have already prepared sketches of two of them. Police also released CCTV footage of the suspected bus with an appeal to the public to help them locate the vehicle. Chhaya Sharma, Deputy Commissioner of Police, South, told reporters, that both the girl and boy had "put up a fight" with the men. The bus had tinted glass and was not in regular commercial service.

"When they boarded the bus, there were a few other men as well in the vehicle.... As of now, we can confirm the involvement of four men," she said. She said police came to know of the incident after they were dumped near Mahipalpur flyover. They were rushed to AIIMS from where the girl was shifted to Safdarjung Hospital.

Though Sharma refused to discuss the condition of the girl, doctors at the Safdarjung Hospital said she was in a "critical state".

Doctors said the girl suffered head injuries and was seriously wounded in the face as well. She is being treated at the Intensive Care Unit.

The girl, who studies in a college in Dehra Dun, is in the capital for her internship.

Though police said they have not yet identified the bus in which the incident took place, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said the permit of the bus has been cancelled by the Transport Department.

She also said necessary action would be taken to ensure such incidents don't happen in the future.

"I have been told by transport department that their licence has been cancelled. We will take all the necessary measures to ensure that such incidents don't happen," she said.

Condemning the incident, NCW chairperson Mamata Sharma said: "Such incidents are increasing in Delhi. Police and government should be really alert....We will get an inquiry done and will also enquire with police as to what action has been taken so far."

Describing the incident as 'shocking', Delhi Women and Child Development Minister Kiran Walia said that government would seriously work on installing CCTV cameras inside buses.

"This is shocking incident. I hope that the guilty are punished for the heinous crime," she said.

Accusing the government of handling the law and order matter "carelessly", BJP spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said such incidents take place regularly but they are neither taken seriously by the home ministry nor by the police.

"This incident will be replaced with another incident after few days. I believe that Delhi's law and order and security issues are handled carelessly by the government," Naqvi said.