Police used batons,
tear gas and water cannon to
turn back thousands of people
marching on Rashtrapati Bhavan
on Saturday in intensifying
protests against the gang-rape of
a woman on the streets and on
social media.
The 23-year-old victim is battling for her
life in hospital after she was beaten,
raped for almost an hour and thrown out
of a moving bus on a busy New Delhi
street last Sunday. Five people have been
arrested.
The protesters, largely college students,
are demanding the death penalty for the
accused and safety assurances for women.
New Delhi, home to about 16 million
people, has the highest number of sex
crimes among India's major cities. Police
figures show a rape is reported on
average every 18 hours and some other
form of sexual attack every 14 hours.