New Delhi, December 29
The Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) in the national Capital today demanded probe into the alleged links between politicians and the city's transport mafia.

Expressing shock at the demise of the gangrape victim, some of the representatives of the RWAs said that there is nexus between political leaders and the dreadful transport mafia.

"It is shocking that the politicians, the Delhi government and the police are busy blaming one another for the incident instead of taking remedial steps and bringing in the culprits and officials to book," said Anil Bajpai, president of the Delhi Residents Forum and RWA Federation, east Delhi.

"It is for the first time that the youth of the country had united on this issue and come out on the streets to vent out their anger and anguish. The governments at the state and the Centre instead of becoming proactive to the issue were busy suppressing the peaceful students' agitation," he added.

Other members of the associations said that the bus was running in violation of the permit rules, thus implying that the transport mafia in the Capital is a result of the nexus between politicians, bureaucrats and bus operators.

"The whole nexus needs to be probed and officials made accountable. These kinds of violent occurrences are happening too often and it needs a concerted response from all in society," Ritu Bhatia, secretary of the Mahila Pragatisheel Association of south Delhi.

"We need tough laws, faster courts for the safety of the women in the Capital. The present police setup and the government have failed in security front and put Delhi people to shame," she said.

New Delhi, December 29
Condoling the death of the gangrape victim, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) today questioned the airlifting of the 23-year-old girl to Singapore for advanced treatment and wanted to know whether hospitals in India lack infrastructure to treat such patients.

The IMA sought to ask the government whether the reason to shift the patient was purely for medical purposes or there were other factors.

The paramedic student was airlifted to Singapore on Wednesday night after undergoing treatment for 10 days at Safdarjung Hospital. Many doctors have questioned the move with some directly attacking the government, saying it was a political move.

President of the IMA K. Vijayakumar said that a doubt arises in everyone's mind whether the country's premier institutes and hospitals lack infrastructure to treat such patients.

"Indian hospitals have infrastructure at par with their counterparts in other countries. India is emerging as a major centre of medical tourism and obviously the shifting of the girl raises the question whether our hospitals lack the necessary facilities?" he asked.

Indian doctors are "equally competent" to handle such cases, said Vijayakumar.

Mourning the death of the girl, honorary secretary of the IMA Dr Narendra Saini also wanted to know the reasons behind shifting the girl to Singapore.

"Is it safe or of any advantage to shift the patient in this condition? Do our hospitals lack infrastructure or our doctors incompetent to handle such patients or this particular decision was taken for other reasons?" he asked.

Both the president and the honorary secretary of the IMA demanded that the government come out with some criteria and norms to be followed in cases of transferring patients to other hospitals.

New Delhi, December 29
After learning about the death of the 23-year-old gangrape victim, people gathered at Jantar Mantar today, giving voice to their anger and pent-up frustration. They demanded capital punishment for the six accused and harsher laws to create "fear" in the minds of potential rapists. While many said that the barbaric act screams for a change in the attitude towards women.

The protestors demanded not only justice for the rape victim, but also creating a safer Delhi. However, a woman journalist was allegedly molested in a crowded section of the protests. In addition, after the protests at India Gate, senior police officers said that many women were allegedly molested by some protestors.

The women and girls, who had arrived at Jantar Mantar to voice their support, asserted that regardless of the increase in the police patrolling, the alleged gangrape incident of December 16 has made them more insecure about their safety in Delhi. "Even if our father or brother or our boyfriends are with us, we don't feel safe anymore. Rapes can happen anywhere in Delhi. There has to be stricter laws on rape cases and the six accused have to be given death penalty. Creating fear in the minds of such criminals is the only solution," said Aakansha, an intern of the Lady Hardinge Medical College in Delhi.

She quickly adds that women can't even go out without worrying about their safety. She says that "freedom" is what women need in the national Capital.

Nidhi Misra, a NGO worker, who had arrived at the protest venue with her mother, says that she always carries a pepper-spray and a pen-knife with her. "They are a part of me. I never leave them and women require such things in places like Delhi," she adds.

Manish Sisodia, a member of the Aam Admi Party, says that the certainty of quick punishment is required in each rape case. "In the past couple of days, that woman (gangrape victim) has become a part of everyone's home. Severe punishment must be given to the culprits. A message has to be sent across that there is a law," he says.

Many people wanted to torture the accused the same way they had tortured the woman. Sitara, a collegian, says that merely hanging the culprits will not enough. A change in the mindset of people towards women must happen quickly and it starts from the beginning--the home. "When we were kids, we have been teased and molested, some of us by our relatives. Only after we grew up, we realized that it was all wrong," she says. 

New Delhi, December 29
The Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today faced public rage when she was forced to return from Jantar Mantar where she went to mourn the death of the 23-year-old gangrape victim.

The demonstrators were in no mood to listen to the Chief Minister even though the police tried to reason with the protestors and allow her to be part of the gathering.

Within minutes, she was escorted out of the area by the police.

"Why do they want to politicize somebody's death? Why didn't they come when the protests first began? She even asked the police to remove us when we protested outside her residence," a protester said.

However, before leaving Jantar Mantar, she lit a candle and prayed for the departed soul.

"I had gone there to express my grief at the death of the girl," she said when asked about her visit to Jantar Mantar.

Dikshit reached Jantar Mantar where around 500 people gathered for mourning the death of the girl at around 2 pm but had to beat a hasty retreat as enraged protesters circled and forced her to return.

People started gathering at Jantar Mantar here at around 10 am and sat in silence.

Aam Aadmi Party leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Kumar Vishwas had also joined the protest along with some of their supporters with their mouth tied with black cloth.

New Delhi, December 29
Delhiites today got some respite from the biting cold as the sun shone brightly through the day and temperature remained above normal level. The sky remained clear for most part of the day after a misty morning. Though wind swept across the city, it was not as chilly as the last two days.

The national Capital witnessed a slightly warm weather with both the maximum and minimum temperatures rising to 21.4 deg C and 8.5 deg C respectively, both a degree above normal, the MeT department said. However, yesterday, the maximum temperature was recorded at 19 deg C, and the minimum 6.3 deg C.

The weather office has forecast mainly clear sky with mist or fog in the morning for tomorrow. The maximum and minimum temperatures would be around 20 and eight degree Celsius, respectively, it said.

With no respite from dense fog, Delhi-bound trains continued to run late causing much inconvenience to passengers. While 51 trains were running late, services of ten trains were cancelled.

Trains like Puri Express, Kalka Mail, Garhwal Express and Jalandhar Express were among 10 trains cancelled by railways. Train schedules were badly affected as some trains were late by more than 20 hours.

Jharkhand SJ Express and Seemachal Express were behind the schedule by 26 hours and 22 hours respectively.

Gondwana Express was running 12 hours late while Howrah Rajdhani was also 10 hours behind the scheduled time, according to Northern Railway.