A ten-year-old girl was allegedly
raped on a Delhi bus by its driver in a case certain to revive bad
memories of the fatal gang-rape of a student in the city late last year.
The victim was playing outside her home in a cluster of slums in the Indian capital's Sultanpuri area yesterday when bus driver Rakesh Kaushal is said to have lured her into the vehicle.
Once aboard the bus and out of sight of her parents 47-year-old Kaushal, a neighbour of the family, is alleged to have raped the youngster.
Police arrested Kaushal on suspicion of rape after the victim's parents reported the crime and a medical examination confirmed that she was sexually assaulted, the Press Trust of India reported.
The issue of women's safety has been top of the political agenda since a 23-year-old student was gang-raped and left for dead on a bus in Delhi in December.
She later died of horrific injuries inflicted with a metal bar which led to doctors removing parts of her intestine.
That case sparked outrage and widespread protest at the treatment of women in the country, which has seen a sharp fall in the numbers of foreign tourists, especially women, since the high-profile case hit the headlines.
But the latest case is already the second alleged rape of a minor this month in area around the Indian capital.
It emerged last week that another ten-year-old allegedly raped by a neighbour was locked in a cell by police after her family tried to report the crimes.
The girl was reportedly found barely conscious following the attack close to her home in a village a two hour drive from Delhi the weekend before last.
Her family are now said to be facing death threats in an attempt to force them to withdraw the complaint.
As
the spotlight shines on the treatment of women in India, the country's
government has proposed a number of reforms to protect women.
Those range from scrapping degrading medical examinations at police stations for rape victims to, revealed today, the decision to paint pink the seats reserved for women on Delhi's public transport.
Delhi transport minister Ramakant Goswami told the Hindustan Times the
need to change the colour of women's seats was felt after authorities
increased the number of seats reserved for women on public buses.
'Earlier, only the left row of the bus used to have reserved seats for women. With increased number of reserved seats, even the row of seats on the right side has seats for women,' he said.
'We have put stickers in the existing fleet but new buses will have pink-coloured seats for easy identification.'
The new buses will also come with built-in global positioning system devices and space to install web-cams or close circuit television to ensure that authorities know what is happening aboard the vehicles.
The victim was playing outside her home in a cluster of slums in the Indian capital's Sultanpuri area yesterday when bus driver Rakesh Kaushal is said to have lured her into the vehicle.
Once aboard the bus and out of sight of her parents 47-year-old Kaushal, a neighbour of the family, is alleged to have raped the youngster.
Police arrested Kaushal on suspicion of rape after the victim's parents reported the crime and a medical examination confirmed that she was sexually assaulted, the Press Trust of India reported.
The issue of women's safety has been top of the political agenda since a 23-year-old student was gang-raped and left for dead on a bus in Delhi in December.
She later died of horrific injuries inflicted with a metal bar which led to doctors removing parts of her intestine.
That case sparked outrage and widespread protest at the treatment of women in the country, which has seen a sharp fall in the numbers of foreign tourists, especially women, since the high-profile case hit the headlines.
But the latest case is already the second alleged rape of a minor this month in area around the Indian capital.
It emerged last week that another ten-year-old allegedly raped by a neighbour was locked in a cell by police after her family tried to report the crimes.
The girl was reportedly found barely conscious following the attack close to her home in a village a two hour drive from Delhi the weekend before last.
Her family are now said to be facing death threats in an attempt to force them to withdraw the complaint.
Those range from scrapping degrading medical examinations at police stations for rape victims to, revealed today, the decision to paint pink the seats reserved for women on Delhi's public transport.
Widespread outrage: Indian protesters hold
banners and wear black ribbons during a rally in New Delhi on December
30 following the cremation of a gang-rape victim in the Indian capital
'Earlier, only the left row of the bus used to have reserved seats for women. With increased number of reserved seats, even the row of seats on the right side has seats for women,' he said.
'We have put stickers in the existing fleet but new buses will have pink-coloured seats for easy identification.'
The new buses will also come with built-in global positioning system devices and space to install web-cams or close circuit television to ensure that authorities know what is happening aboard the vehicles.