The nation was shattered to know the horrible incident which was followed by several protests across the country.
On 16th December last year, the physiotherapist student was brutally raped in front of her male friend by six people including a juvenile in a private bus.
The couple was later thrown out of the bus on the cold night. The woman died from her injuries 13 days later in a hospital in Singapore.
All the accused were arrested and charged with sexual assault and murder.
One of the accused, Ram Singh, died in police custody on 11th March 2013 in the Tihar Jail.
The juvenile was convicted of rape and murder and given the maximum sentence of three years’ imprisonment.
On 10th September 2013, the four remaining adult defendants were found guilty of rape and murder and three days later were sentenced to death by hanging.
In view of the widespread protests, governments at the centre and various states announced several steps to ensure the safety of women.
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2013 was promulgated by the President which provides for death penalty in case of rape.
Under severe attack after the 16th December gangrape, Delhi police took a slew of steps like setting up helplines and women help desks at police stations to ensure women’s safety but there is no let up in the crimes against them which have actually increased during the period.
The number of rape cases this year is highest in the last 13 years, but Delhi police has attributed it to greater awareness and registering of cases which otherwise would have gone unreported.
According to Delhi police data, a total of 1,493 cases of rape were registered in the national capital till 30th November which is more than double the number of cases registered in the same period in 2012.
What is more alarming is that the number of cases of molestation has registered a five-fold increase as till November 2013, a total of 3,237 such cases were registered as against 625 last year.
Cases related to outraging the modesty of women, that includes eve-teasing and stalking, also show a similar trend with the figure skyrocketing to 852 from last year’s 165.
As per data of National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), in 2012, a total of 706 rape cases were registered while in 2011, the numbers of registered rape cases were 572, as against 507 rape cases reported in 2010.