New Delhi, Dec 18 (IBNS): Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj once again stirred the debate over death penalty for rapists in Parliament on Tuesday demanding capital punishment for such crimes as the Sunday night's gangrape and assault of a medical student inside a moving bus in the national capital echoed in both houses.
"There is no words enough to condemn the crime of Sunday night. It was even not too late in the night and she was accompanied by a male companion and yet it happened. The Home Minister and Delhi Chief Minister must come and explain," said Sushma Swaraj.
She said it is a shame that a woman is not safe in the national capital where middle class family women have to go out for livelihood and work in call centres which work only during the nights.
She demanded death penalty for rapists.
Congress lawmaker Girija Vyas, who is also the former chairperson National Commission for Women, demanded fast track courts to try rapists.
She said death penalty can lead to killing of the victims by the rapists and cited examples.
She also demanded strong action by the government and stricter laws.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar herself spoke on the issue and demanded strong and fast action so that no weak message reaches the masses.
Parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath rose in the house to assure that the culprits will not go unpunished.
In Rajya Sabha, Congress member Renuka Chowdhury said the incident should not be just another statistics.
BSP chief Mayawati also raised the matter and demanded action and severe punishment for rapists and publicity of the punishment so that it remains in public memory.
An enraged Samajwadi Party member Jaya Bachchan said she would protest outside Parliament if the issue was not addressed properly.
Earlier, the Rajya Sabha had to be adjourned for a while over the issue.
While the Opposition members demanded that Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde should discuss the issue in the Rajya Sabha, the chairman of the upper house Hamid Ansari had to adjourn the session for 15 minutes.
He said the government will make a statement during the day.
Delhi police have arrested three men who along with a fourth one allegedly gang-raped and assaulted brutally a 23-year-old medical student inside a moving chartered bus in the national capital Sunday night and then threw her off the vehicle along with her badly beaten male companion.
Police also recovered the iron rod with which the victim and her friend were beaten up badly, leading to severe injuries of the girl on face and abdomen.
Police said among the arrested are prime accused Ram Singh, the driver of the bus. His brother was another accused arrested. Three others were also detained.
Police followed the leads provided by the male companion of the girl who was inside the bus and tried to protest but was was beaten up with iron rod.
The girl is fighting for her life in a Delhi's Safdarjung hospital with multiple injuries on her face and abdomen and has been put on ventilator. She underwent several surgeries, reports said. Her intestines were also damaged.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said strong action would be taken against culprits and transport operators to prevent recurrence of incidents like this.
The Chief Minister said the transport department has cancelled the licence of the bus and there would be a crackdown to prevent such incidents.
Police inspected the CCTV footage of the bus's movement last night from hotels and petrol pumps and the national highway and zeroed in on the main culprits.
The gangrape occurred in a Whiteline bus- which usually ply for schools- between 9-30 and 11 pm in the Vasant Vihar area of southwest Delhi.
The victim was thrown off the vehicle in a semi naked condition along with her badly injured male friend who had tried to prevent the crime.
They had watched a movie at Delhi's Select City Walk mall in Saket and then boarded the bus which probably was not authorised to take passengers.
It was a Whiteline private bus bound for Palam from Munirka in south Delhi.
The men in the bus had started harassing the woman and when they protested, she was dragged inside the bus cabin and raped by them. Then she was tortured for a long time.
They were finally thrown off the vehicle on a flyover.
