Gangrape victim loses battle for life, outpouring of grief across country

India was a nation convulsed as outrage gave way to grief, more anger after the 23-year-old woman, gangraped and tortured on board a bus in south Delhi twelve days ago, lost her battle for life and died in a Singapore hospital early Saturday.

Her family is returning with her body on board a special aircraft which has been sent to Singapore and it is expected to land in New Delhi early Sunday.

Indian High Commissioner T C A Raghavan told The Indian Express that her family and a representative of the commission were by her side in the final hours before the end at 2.15 am IST.

Dr Kevin Loh, CEO of Mount Elizabeth Hospital, said: "Despite all efforts by a team of eight specialists in Mount Elizabeth Hospital to keep her stable, her condition continued to deteriorate... she suffered from severe organ failure following serious injuries to her body and brain. She was courageous in fighting for life for so long against the odds but the trauma to her body was too severe for her to overcome."

Her brother told The Indian Express: "My lovely sister is no more. We are in shock, the grief is beyond imagination... I don't know how we will survive without my sister."

President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and leaders from across parties mourned for the woman and promised swift justice. The six men who were arrested for raping and attacking her with rods and blades on December 16 will now be charged with murder.

The nation woke to the news of her death and people in cities across the country staged street protests. Fearing a repeat of the massive protest at India Gate and along Rajpath a week ago, police locked down the heart of New Delhi, closing all approach roads and deploying policemen in hundreds.

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