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Indian politician accused of rape is stripped and publicly beaten

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 13:44:00 +0000

As the five men charged in the gang-rape of a 23-year-old woman on New Delhi bus face murder charges, a politician in northeast India accused of rape was stripped and beaten by a crowd of women.

Bikram Singh Brahma is a member of the Congress Party in Assam and president of a district Congress committee in the state. He was arrested Thursday in the rape of a woman in Chirang, a district in Assam. As the New York Times reports:

“A case has been registered against him under I.P.C. 376 by the lady’s husband,” G. P. Singh, the zonal inspector general of police, said in a telephone interview, referring to the section of the Indian penal code that applies to rape.

Mr. Brahma attacked the woman Wednesday night while he was staying at her family’s house, Mr. Singh said on Thursday. “He was staying at their house, and under what circumstances will be the subject matter of the investigation,” he added.

Local television stations released a video of a group of women tearing off Mr. Brahma’s shirt and hitting him on the face and stomach.

Indian police charge 5 in New Delhi gang rape

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 13:43:00 +0000

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian police have filed rape and murder charges against five men accused in the gang rape of a woman on a New Delhi bus last month.

Police say they plan to push for the death penalty in the case.

A sixth suspect is believed to be a juvenile and is expected to be tried in juvenile court.

The five were charged Thursday with raping the 23-year-old woman for hours and beating her companion as the bus drove through the capital. The woman died Saturday in a hospital in Singapore from massive internal injuries.

The case has sparked outrage and protests across the country demanding greater protection for women.

Gun applications on the rise for Indian women

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 19:42:00 +0000

The brutal rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman by six men on a Delhi city bus last month has sparked an unprecedented debate about sexual violence in India. The attack has also inspired a record number of women to apply for gun licenses.

According to the Delhi police department, 274 Delhi women have applied for gun licenses and some 1,200 more have called the licensing department to inquire. "These include not only the average working woman, but even students who travel long distances to colleges and even their concerned parents. They were eager to find out more on the procedure to acquire arms," a Delhi police officer told the Times of India.

India's restrictive gun laws require a "grave and imminent threat" to the applicant's life in order to be approved, making gun ownership rare. The 274 applications received in the last three weeks amount to more than half of the applications submitted in 2011.