Singapore/New Delhi, Dec 27 (IBNS): The 23-year-old Delhi gang rape victim who was Wednesday night taken to a Singapore hospital by an air ambulance has been admitted there in a stable but very critical condition, sources said on Thursday even as back home the union cabinet approved a commission of enquiry to look into the Dec 16 attack on her on a bus.
The Cabinet on Thursday approved setting up of a Commission of Enquiry to look into the incident of rape and assault on the young woman on and to suggest measures to improve the safety and security of women.
The Commission of Enquiry will be set up under the Chairmanship of Ms. Justice Usha Mehra, retired Judge of the High Court, Delhi.
Meanwhile, the girl has been admitted to the ICU of Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore, officials in Delhi said.
She was flown in a highly equipped air ambulance to the Singapore hospital where earlier Southern superstar Rajinikanth was treated besides politicians like Amar Singh.
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad confirmed the news of her admission and said she is in a stable condition.
"She reached at 5-30 in the morning. She has been admitted. She is stable," said Azad.
Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde in a statement said: "Government had stated that it will spare no effort for her treatment. Therefore, when we were advised by a team of Doctors that she may be shifted abroad for treatment, the Government decided to meet all the costs thereof."
"Considering the travel time, the doctors have suggested Mt Elizabeth Hospital, Singapore. Government have ordered India’s High Commissioner in Singapore to make necessary arrangements. Indian Doctors have spoken to the Doctors of the said Hospital and shared the details of the patient," Shinde said.
The hospital specializes in multi-organ transplant procedures. The hospital in a statement said, however, that the girl was brought there in an extremely critical condition.
B D Athani, the medical superintendent of Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi where the girl was undergoing treatment after the brutal rape and attack with an iron rod inside a moving bus, said the Singapore hospital has a state-of-art multi-organ transplant facility.
The girl's parents also accompanied her.
Large parts of the victim's intestines were removed as a result of the injuries she suffered from the attack.
The victim was moved to the airport on Wednesday from the Delhi hospital in an ambulance and her papers were arranged by the government.
Doctors who have been treating the woman at Safdarjung Hospital did not issue the usual medical bulletin on Wednesday, but have maintained that even she has been responding to the treatment, her condition has remained critical.
As the condition of the woman remained worrying, authorities have been under tremendous pressure from all fronts as the incident sparked protests nationwide.
In their medical bulletin on Tuesday doctors attending the victim said she continued to be critical but is improving and is a shade better than she was a day ago.
The 23-year-old medical student was raped and brutalized with an iron rod on a moving bus and then thrown off the vehicle along with her male companion on December 16, when she was returning home after watching a movie.
Full text of the Statement by Union Home Minister on Critical Condition of Victim:
“We are all aware of the critical condition of victim. Since the day of the incident, it has been our endeavour to provide her the best of medical care. Despite the best efforts of our Doctors, the victim continues to be critical and her fluctuating health remains a big cause of concern to all of us.
Government had stated that it will spare no effort for her treatment. Therefore, when we were advised by a team of Doctors that she may be shifted abroad for treatment, the Government decided to meet all the costs thereof. Considering the travel time, the doctors have suggested Mt Elizabeth Hospital, Singapore. Government have ordered India’s High Commissioner in Singapore to make necessary arrangements. Indian Doctors have spoken to the Doctors of the said Hospital and shared the details of the patient.
Arrangements have also been made for the family to accompany her as the treatment may stretch to many weeks.”
The Cabinet Thursday approved setting up of a Commission of Enquiry to look into the incident of rape and assault on the girl.
Following are the terms and references of the Enquiry Commission will be as follows:
i. The Commission shall go into the various aspects of the shocking incident of rape and brutal assault of a young woman in Delhi on 16.12.2012; identify the lapses, if any, on the part of the police or any other authority or person that contributed to the occurrence; and fix responsibility for the lapses and / or negligence on the part of the police or any other authority or person.
ii. The Commission shall suggest measures to improve the safety and security of women, particularly in Delhi and NCR.
The Commission shall submit its report to the Central Government as soon as possible but not later than three months from the date of its first sitting.
The Commission may, if it deems fit, make an interim report to the Central Government before the said date on any of the matters mentioned in paragraphs i and ii above.
The headquarters of the Commission shall be at New Delhi.
The Commission of Enquiry has been set up under section 3 of the Commission of Inquiry Act 1952 (60 of 1952).
