India: Student’s rape in Delhi sparks violent protests
Indian demonstrators set fire to wooden barricades during a protest calling for better safety for women following the rape of a student last week, in front the India Gate monument in New Delhi on December 23, 2012. In the biggest protest so far, several thousand college students rallied at the India Gate monument in the heart of the capital where they were baton-charged, water cannoned and tear gassed by the police.
Violent protests have broken out in the Indian capital of Delhi after news broke that a seven-year-old was sexually assaulted at her school.
According to Zee News, the girl was been taken to a hospital in Delhi, and medical officials have confirmed that she was raped.
"The victim was raped by a man inside the school campus yesterday," said a senior police official to Zee News. "Her parents approached us this morning and a case has been registered. The victim could not tell us anything about the attacker."
The police official confirmed that they were questioning male staff at the school, including teachers and the guard.
Enraged over the incident, hundreds of people gathered outside the hospital where the girl was taken for treatment. According to the BBC, protestors pelted policemen with stones, and attacked buses.
FirstPost India reported that police had to break up the protests using their batons.
The recent gang rape and murder of a student on a Delhi bus in December brought the issue of sexual assault in India to the limelight.