Delhi gangrape: All the major developments so far

It’s been over a month since the horrific gangrape and assault aboard a private bus in Delhi claimed the life of a 23-year-old woman. The incident sparked widespread outrage, protests, insensitive statements from our political leaders and a wider debate over the safety of women. Here are some of the milestones in the incident so far: The trial of the alleged rapists The special sessions court in Delhi which was conducting preliminary hearings into the case, moved it to a fast track court on 18 January. The first hearing will take place on Monday, with the lawyers for the accused saying that they plan to contest evidence. The defence legal team has also alleged that their clients were tortured by the police, and have petitioned the Supreme Court to move the trial out of New Delhi, on the basis that they will not get a fair trial there. The 23-year-old victim: The woman was put on ventilator support barely two days after the incident took place on 16 December. She suffered intestinal damage and other injuries after being repeatedly hit with a blunt object on her abdomen. The doctors said the extent of genital damage indicates that a blunt object was also probably inserted into her genitals. The victim went through five major surgeries where the doctors had to remove large portions of her intestines due to the damage sustained. She was moved to the Mount Elizabeth hospital in Singapore on 26 December as her condition worsened. She breathed her last in Singapore on 29 December. Protests across the nation: The whole country was outraged by the incident, which saw protests by people from all walks of society. Students, activists and women’s organisations gathered at Jantar Mantar, India Gate, Safdarjung hospital and even the Saket court to hold candle-light vigils and peaceful marches. However, some protesters turned violent on 21 and 22 December at India Gate and Raisina Hill after a crackdown by the Delhi police with tear gas, water canons and baton charge. The violence resulted in the death of a constable Subhash Tomar. The protests continued even after the death of the victim, with people going on fasts, demanding justice and prompt action by the government. Apart from the protests on streets, social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook were abuzz with reactions. Celebrities and activists made their voices heard through their tweets. [caption id=“attachment_590393” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  AFP[/caption] **The political drama:**MPs across parties protested against the incident using the strongest terms in Parliament and outside it. While Manmohan Singh and Sushil Kumar Shinde promised serious action against the accused, politicians like Jaya Bachchan, Sonia Gandhi and Sheila Dikshit shed tears. They said that as women they feel ashamed that something like this had happened in the country. However it also resulted in leaders across the political spectrum putting their foot in their mouth while commenting on the issue of safety of women. What came out of the protests: The government set up a committee to investigate “lapses” by police in connection with the gangrape. The Justice JS Verma committee will look into amending existing laws and recommend coming up with new laws in order to ensure the safety of women and has already taken suggestions from the public for it. The Telecom Ministry launched a women’s helpline number ‘181’ for women in distress. Apart from this the Delhi police carried out major crackdowns on illegal buses plying in the city and banned tinted glasses and announced more women police officials would be deputed at police stations. Police action: The Delhi police managed to identify all the suspects in the gruesome rape case by 17 December. They arrested all five by 19 December, while the sixth accused, who is allegedly a juvenile, was on the run. The Delhi Police then submitted its 1000-page charge sheet before a fast-track court in Saket on 3 January, 2013 and are expected to seek death penalty. Should juvenile face the same trial as adults: Confusion has prevailed over the age of the sixth accused who has claimed to be under eighteen years of age. The headmaster of his school appeared twice before the juvenile justice board and reportedly submitted documents proving that the teenager is a minor. However, a bone test is also being done to verify his age and the possibility that he may face a lesser sentence than the other accused has sparked a debate over the Juvenile Justice Act.