LUCKNOW, India — The ashes of an Indian student who died after being gang-raped were scattered in the Ganges river on Tuesday as reports of more attacks stoked a growing national debate on violence against women. The death of the 23-year-old woman, who has not been named, prompted street protests across India, international outrage and promises from the government of tougher punishments for offenders. Police on Tuesday confirmed they would push for the death penalty for her attackers - the force can recommend prosecutors pursue particular punishments in Indian trials. The physiotherapy student was raped and tortured on Dec. 16 by a group of men armed with a metal bar on a private bus in New Delhi, nicknamed India's ‘rape capital'. She died from her injuries on Saturday in a Singapore hospital. Relatives scattered the woman's remains in India's largest river, which is sacred to the Hindu religion, during a small ceremony in the district of Ballia where she was born, a senior local official said. “The immersion of the ashes was a private affair, a family affair,” said R.M. Srivastava, home secretary of Uttar Pradesh, the state where the ceremony took place. Indian media reported a string of new attacks on Tuesday, including a woman set on fire, allegedly by a stalker, in Uttar Pradesh and another woman stabbed to death in a busy market district of eastern Delhi. In a debate titled “New Year, New Attacks, New Rapes” on television network NDTV, lawyers and politicians from several parties promised fast action to tighten laws. “Keep up the social pressure, socially ostracize these people,” said Renuka Chowdhury, a senior member of the ruling Congress party. Protesters braved chilly weather in New Delhi to hold candlelight vigils and small rallies on New Year's Day. “I'm going to stand here until the government actually decides to give women some safety,” one young woman told journalists. Other protesters brandished placards that read “First of January is a black day.” The attack revealed deep fissures in Indian society, where staunchly chauvinist views clash with a fast-modernizing urban culture in which women play a growing role in public life. The case also cast a spotlight on an epidemic of violence against women in India, where a rape is reported on average every 20 minutes. Media coverage of such crimes has intensified in the wake of the outcry over the Delhi attack. Five men and a teenager have been detained over the attack and police sources on Tuesday said charges would likely be filed on Wednesday or Thursday. — Reuters
