Outraged Delhi students gather outside Safdarjung hospital to wish gangrape victim well

Protests held outside Chief Minister's house, India Gate and outside Safdarjung Hospital

Carrying candles, flowers and 'get well soon' cards, students from across the city gathered at the Safdarjung Hospital on Thursday to express solidarity with the 23-year-old gangrape victim admitted there. The woman, a paramedic student, was brutally tortured and raped inside a moving bus on Sunday night.

A number of protests, in various parts of the city, expressed outrage at the crime and demanded justice for the victim. Protests were held in front of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's residence and India Gate.

At Safdurjung Hospital, the a few students asked to meet the victim, but the request was turned down.

In the afternoon, around 150 medical aspirants, who had gagged themselves with a piece of black cloth, held a protest outside the hospital. The protesters demanded justice for the victim and stringent punishment for the accused.

In the evening, around 250 students from JNU held a candlelight vigil outside the hospital. After a brief march, they sat in front of the hospital holding candles and placards. They alleged inaction by government in dealing with those who commit heinous crimes like rapes and claimed that there was very less conviction of accused.

Earlier in the day, JNU students also staged a protest near Dikshit's residence.

"We don't know the victim. We came to know about the incident from the news. We have come here to express our support for her. We just want her and her family members to know that we are with them," Srilakshmi, a second-year student from Delhi University, said.

"I feel that a brave girl like her doesn't need anybody's sympathy. We just want the culprits should be hanged. The punishment should be so severe that any person would think at least 100 times before committing such a crime," another protester said.

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