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India gang rape: Delhi to appoint more policewomen India gang rape: Delhi to appoint more policewomen
(about 3 hours later)
India has said more women police will be recruited soon in the capital, Delhi, after a national outcry over the gang rape of a young woman last month. Women will be recruited for every police station in Delhi, Indian officials say, after an outcry over the December rape and murder of a student.
Five men have been charged with raping and murdering the 23-year-old who died of her injuries at the weekend. Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said India had to crack down on crimes against women with an "iron hand".
The men will be tried in a fast-track court, where they could be handed the death penalty. A sixth suspect is likely to be tried in a juvenile court. The 23-year-old woman was attacked on a bus while making her way home.
Meanwhile, the home minister has called a meeting of officials from all states. Five men have been charged and could be handed the death penalty if found guilty. A sixth suspect is likely to be tried in a juvenile court.
Sushil Kumar Shinde will have talks on Friday with state chief secretaries and police chiefs on how to stop crimes against women, officials say. Mr Shinde called a meeting of law enforcement officials from around India to consider how to improve protection for women.
He told delegates that the entire system needed to be reappraised.
On Thursday, the five accused, who include the driver of the bus, were charged before a magistrate but the case will be transferred to a specially launched fast-track court on Saturday. "These kinds of incidents, and rage against women and weaker sections of our society, are unacceptable to our democracy. These need to be curbed with an iron hand," he said.
The trial is expected to start at the weekend. He had earlier announced that each of the 166 police stations in Delhi would have women officers available at all times, and that more women would be recruited across the country.
Although it is mandatory in India for the accused to appear in person to be charged, the five were not present on Thursday for security reasons. At the moment many police stations in the city do not have any women on their staff.
Case documents already run to more than 1,000 pages and include key testimony from the woman before she died. Officials say it is often difficult for policemen to assist a female victim.
Police say they have scheduled about 30 witnesses. The government has been under pressure to act since the woman was attacked on a bus while she was travelling home from a visit to the cinema on 16 December.
The Bar Association said none of its members was willing to defend the suspects, so the court is expected to appoint defence lawyers itself. She was beaten with metal bars and gang raped for an hour, and died from her injuries two weeks later.
Harassment The case sparked huge protests and demands for better protection for women.
Late on Thursday, Mr Shinde announced that each of the 166 police stations in Delhi would have policewomen available at all times. The five adult men accused of the attack are expected to go on trial at a fast-track court on the weekend.
"I have signed the file for appointing two woman sub-inspectors and seven woman constables in every police station in Delhi," he told reporters. The Bar Association has said none of its members was willing to defend the suspects, so the court is expected to appoint defence lawyers itself.
At the moment, many police stations in the city do not have a single woman on their staff and police officials say sometimes it becomes "difficult" for policemen to assist a female victim.
The home minister's announcement comes amid public outrage at the woman's murder in Delhi.
Protests have been taking place every day since the attack, with demonstrators expressing anger at attitudes to women in India and calling for changes to the laws on violence against women.
They say women across India are frequently subjected to harassment and sexual assault, that reports of crimes against women are not taken seriously and that conviction rates are too low.
The victim's father said he backed calls for the men to be executed if found guilty.The victim's father said he backed calls for the men to be executed if found guilty.
The woman and a male friend had been to the cinema when they boarded a private bus home in the evening.
Police have said the men on the bus had been drinking and were taking the vehicle on a joyride.
They beat the woman and her companion with iron bars, raped her for nearly an hour and then threw them out of the moving bus into the street, say police.
The Press Trust of India quoted police sources as saying the driver of the bus had tried to run her over after throwing her out, but that she was saved by her friend.
She sustained serious injuries to her body and brain and died on 29 December in a hospital in Singapore, where she had been taken for specialist treatment.
Helpline launched
Delhi officials have responded to criticism that they are failing to protect women by announcing a series of measures intended to make the city safer.Delhi officials have responded to criticism that they are failing to protect women by announcing a series of measures intended to make the city safer.
These include more police night patrols, checks on bus drivers and their assistants, and the banning of buses with tinted windows or curtains.These include more police night patrols, checks on bus drivers and their assistants, and the banning of buses with tinted windows or curtains.
The government has also set up a committee under a retired Supreme Court judge to recommend changes to the anti-rape law.The government has also set up a committee under a retired Supreme Court judge to recommend changes to the anti-rape law.
A telephone helpline has been launched for women in distress, connected to police stations across the city.A telephone helpline has been launched for women in distress, connected to police stations across the city.