INCIDENT
The victims, a 23-year-old woman and a male friend, were on their way home on the night of 16 December 2012 after watching the film Life of Pi in Saket, South Delhi. They boarded an off-duty charter bus atMunirka for Dwarka that was being driven by joyriders at about 9:30 pm (IST). There were only six others in the bus, including the driver. One of the men, a minor, had called for passengers telling them that the bus was going towards their destination. The woman's friend became suspicious when the bus deviated from its normal route and its doors were shut. When he objected, the group of six men already on board, including the driver, taunted the couple, asking what they were doing alone at such a late hour
When the woman's friend tried to intervene, he was beaten, gagged and knocked unconscious with an iron rod. The men then dragged the woman to the rear of the bus, beating her with the rod and raping her while the bus driver continued to drive. Medical reports later said that the woman suffered serious injuries to her abdomen, intestines and genitals due to the assault, and doctors said that the damage indicated that a blunt object (suspected to be the iron rod) may have been used for penetration. That rod was later described by police as being a rusted, L-shaped implement of the type used as a wheel jack handle. According to police reports the woman attempted to fight off her assailants, biting three of the attackers and leaving bite marks on the accused men. After the beatings and rape ended, the attackers threw both victims from the moving bus. Then the bus driver allegedly tried to drive the bus over the woman, but she was pulled aside by her male friend. One of the perpetrators later cleaned the vehicle to remove evidence. Police impounded it the next day.
The partially clothed victims were found on the road by a passerby at around 11 pm (IST). The passerby phoned the Delhi Police, who took the couple to Safdarjung Hospital, where the female victim was given emergency treatment and placed on mechanical ventilation. She was found with injury marks, including numerous bite marks, all over her body. According to reports, one of the accused men admitted to having seen a rope-like object, assumed to be her intestines, being pulled out of the woman by the other assailants on the bus. Two blood-stained metal rods were retrieved from the bus and medical staff confirmed that "it was penetration by this that caused massive damage to her genitals, uterus and intestines".
TREATMENT AND DEATH
On 19 December 2012,
the woman underwent her fifth surgery, removing most of her remaining intestine. Doctors reported that she was in "stable but critical" condition.
On 21 December,
the government appointed a committee of physicians to ensure she received the best medical care.
25 December,
she remained intubated, on life support and in critical condition. Doctors stated that she was running a fever of 102 to 103 °F (39 °C) and internal bleeding due to sepsis, a severe blood infection that can lead to organ failure, was somewhat controlled. It was reported that she was "stable, conscious and meaningfully communicative".
on 26 December
At a cabinet meeting chaired by Manmohan Singh, the decision was made to fly her to Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore for further care. Mount Elizabeth is a multi-organ transplant speciality hospital. Some doctors criticised the decision as political, questioning the need to transfer an intensive care unit (ICU) patient for organ transplants that were not scheduled for weeks or even months later. Government sources indicate that the Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit, was personally behind the decision. Hours earlier, Union Minister P. Chidambaram had stated that the woman was not in a condition to move. An anonymous source quoted by The Sunday Guardian stated that the decision to move her was taken "when it was already clear that she would not survive the next 48 hours".
on 27 December
During the six-hour flight by air-ambulance to Singapore , the woman suddenly went into a "near collapse", which a later report described as a cardiac arrest. The doctors on the flight created an arterial line to stabilise her, but she had been without pulse and blood pressure for nearly three minutes and never regained consciousness in Singapore.
On 28 December 2012,
at 11 am (IST), her condition was "extremely critical". The chief executive officer of the Mount Elizabeth Hospital said that the woman suffered brain damage, pneumonia, and abdominal infection, and that she was "fighting for her life." Her condition continued to deteriorate, and she died at 4:45 am on 29 December, Singapore Standard Time (2:15 am, 29 December, IST; 8:45 pm, 28 December, UTC). Her body was cremated on 30 December in Delhi under high police security. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the country's main opposition party, criticised the high security levels, stating that they were reminiscent of the Emergency Era.
the woman underwent her fifth surgery, removing most of her remaining intestine. Doctors reported that she was in "stable but critical" condition.
On 21 December,
the government appointed a committee of physicians to ensure she received the best medical care.
25 December,
she remained intubated, on life support and in critical condition. Doctors stated that she was running a fever of 102 to 103 °F (39 °C) and internal bleeding due to sepsis, a severe blood infection that can lead to organ failure, was somewhat controlled. It was reported that she was "stable, conscious and meaningfully communicative".
on 26 December
At a cabinet meeting chaired by Manmohan Singh, the decision was made to fly her to Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore for further care. Mount Elizabeth is a multi-organ transplant speciality hospital. Some doctors criticised the decision as political, questioning the need to transfer an intensive care unit (ICU) patient for organ transplants that were not scheduled for weeks or even months later. Government sources indicate that the Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit, was personally behind the decision. Hours earlier, Union Minister P. Chidambaram had stated that the woman was not in a condition to move. An anonymous source quoted by The Sunday Guardian stated that the decision to move her was taken "when it was already clear that she would not survive the next 48 hours".
on 27 December
During the six-hour flight by air-ambulance to Singapore , the woman suddenly went into a "near collapse", which a later report described as a cardiac arrest. The doctors on the flight created an arterial line to stabilise her, but she had been without pulse and blood pressure for nearly three minutes and never regained consciousness in Singapore.
On 28 December 2012,
at 11 am (IST), her condition was "extremely critical". The chief executive officer of the Mount Elizabeth Hospital said that the woman suffered brain damage, pneumonia, and abdominal infection, and that she was "fighting for her life." Her condition continued to deteriorate, and she died at 4:45 am on 29 December, Singapore Standard Time (2:15 am, 29 December, IST; 8:45 pm, 28 December, UTC). Her body was cremated on 30 December in Delhi under high police security. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the country's main opposition party, criticised the high security levels, stating that they were reminiscent of the Emergency Era.
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