Delhi gangrape: Victim fights for life, 2 accused arrested

The Delhi police on Monday arrested two of the seven accused in connection with the brutal gangrape of a medical student in a private chartered bus in the national capital on Sunday night. The police have detained four other suspects as well. However, even as the police comes close to cracking the case, student unions in Delhi have threatened to hold protests against the rising incidents of violence against women and the shoddy investigations done by police.

Voicing the frustration of the public, Shazia Ilmi of Aam Aadmi Party said, "The victim is in a bad state. Women are not safe here. The government isn't doing enough. Is it the Taliban that women can' step out late? The government needs to do more to protect women."

Some serving and former police officers have suggested that the police must increase surprise checks on private and DTC buses. "Bring in more police presence in areas where there is a large student population, places around north and south campus, and even the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). The police should also carry out intensive checks around border areas like the Delhi-Gurgaon border, the Delhi-Faridabad border and the Delhi-Noida border," say some of them.

With malls and market areas open till late at night, the officers say that the police must ensure heavy patrolling near those areas, adding that most importantly, the culprits in cases like these should be put on a fast track trial, with swift sentencing.

The Delhi government has, meanwhile, indicated that it might set up fast track courts to ensure speedy justice to victims of such crimes. The Delhi Cabinet is expected to take up a proposal in this regard very soon, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's Parliamentary Secretary Mukesh Sharma said.

The victim of the gangrape, a para-medical student from Dehra Dun interning in a Delhi hospital, is said to be in critical condition and is fighting for her life in the ICU at Safdarjung hospital. She has been put on ventilator support.