New Delhi:
The 23-year-old medical student who was brutally raped in a moving bus in Delhi on Sunday, has been taken off the ventilator and is attempting to speak now. All six men who allegedly raped Amanat (not her real name) are now in custody. The Delhi High Court has asked the police to share the names of the cops who failed to stop the bus, which had tinted glasses, as it moved through a series of check points in Delhi while the young woman was being tortured in it.
Here are the latest developments in the investigation:
The police said that sixth accused person, who was on the run, was today arrested in Bihar. They had earlier in the day arrested one of the accused who were on the run. He is a minor. Four of the six men accused of raping the woman - the bus driver Ram Singh, his brother, Mukesh, Vinay, a gym assistant and Pawan or Kalu, a fruitseller - had been arrested earlier in the week. They have been also been charged with attempt to murder among other things.
The Home Secretary and Delhi Police chief said today that they were "hopeful that based on circumstantial evidence, oral evidence and forensic evidence we will be able to secure conviction." They said they would seek a swift trial and Life Imprisonment for the accused. The Delhi Police has submitted a status report on its investigations in the High Court today.
The two top officials detailed security measures taken in Delhi. Cops, they said, had removed tinted films from the windows of 464 vehicles in Delhi this week and all vehicles coming into the city from other states that had with tinted glasses were being turned back.
They said there were plainclothes cops out on the streets and also on buses to prevent loitering and misbehaviour. "This is going to be a place where any goondagardi or dadagiri will be swiftly punished," Home Secretary RK Singh said. He also said that Global Positioning Service or GPS will be added to all buses and autos, adding that a chargesheet will be filed soon.
The top officials also said that a large number of contract buses that were found to be plying illegally had been impounded, their licences cancelled and these would be auctioned after receiving orders from court. Buses, autorickshaw and taxis had been instructed to display licence numbers on vehicles, they said. Auto and taxi drivers have to be verified by the police and wear badges that indicate they are authorised to be driving, officials said.
The young woman is in stable condition but her platelet count has dropped further. Doctors said they are worried about a possible infection developing in her liver. (Read) She has been through multiple surgeries and almost her entire intestines have had to be removed.
Doctors at Safdurjang Hospital have allowed the Delhi Police to record the victim's statement. The cops have been asked to prepare a written questionnaire, which she will respond to either in writing or through gestures. She has reportedly asked for her mother to be present when her statement is recorded. (Read: 'Have they been caught?', gang-rape survivor reportedly asked)
One of the men accused, Mukesh, was identified yesterday by the victim's male friend, who was with her when the incident happened. The young man, who too was beaten on the head repeatedly with an iron rod on Sunday evening, reportedly took a minute to identify the accused out of 11 men who were paraded before him at Tihar Jail yesterday. Three of them, including Mukesh, have also confessed to the crime in court. Ram Singh has refused to participate in a test identification.
A parliamentary panel will meet on December 27 to discuss if changes need to be made in the law on rape and will make suggestions to the government for the government. The Union Home Secretary and top Delhi Police officers have been ordered to attend the meeting.
Angry demonstrations continue in Delhi; loud protests were held today outside Rashtrapati Bhawan, at the hospital where the victim is being treated and at other places. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has announced the setting up of a round-the-clock control room for women in distress and has promised a stringent law to curb sexual assault on women. (Read: Sheila Dikshit's steps to make Delhi safer for women) Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaisingh has been asked to prepare a draft bill.
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