Indian rape victim dies

Mount Elizabeth Hospital said in a statement that the young Indian woman died of her injuries early on Saturday morning. She was gang-raped, beaten and then thrown from a bus by six men on December 16.

"We are very sad to report that the patient passed away peacefully at 4.45 a.m. [local time, 2045 UCT on the previous day] on 29 December, 2012," Kelvin Loh, the chief executive of Mount Elizabeth Hospital, said in a statement. "Her family and officials from the High Commission of India were by her side. The Mount Elizabeth Hospital team of doctors, nurses and staff join her family in mourning her loss."

The 23-year-old was traveling with a friend, who was also set upon by the men, on a bus in New Delhi when the attack occurred. The attackers apparently hailed from rural, conservative areas of the country but had moved to New Delhi.

Her ordeal has prompted public protests demanding greater protection from sexual violence for women.

The chief minister of West Bengal state, Mamata Banerjee, on Friday pledged 65 all-female police stations dealing with crimes against women. She said that ten of them were already up and running.

msh/av (AFP, AP)