As Protests Sweep Delhi, Another Gang Rape in Bihar

Sajjad Hussain/Agence France-Presse - Getty ImagesPeople gathered outside the residence of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit in New Delhi, on Wednesday, to protest the rape of a 23-year old, on Dec. 16.

PATNA, Bihar- As protests erupted across Delhi on Wednesday after a recent gang-rape in the nation's capital, the police in the northern state of Bihar said a 15-year-old girl had been admitted to a government hospital after being raped by three men.

The Bihar student, who was in the 10th grade and from the Surya village of the Banka district, was attacked by three men on her way home from school, Vikas Barman, the Banka police superintendent, said in a telephone interview. “We've detained two persons related to the case,” he said.

India has seen sharp rise in the number of reported gang rape cases in recent months, particularly in the north, sparking calls for stricter laws, faster convictions and increased police presence. In the north Indian state of Haryana, more than a dozen rape cases, several of them gang rapes, were reported this fall.

Overall, reported rapes in India have increased by about 25 percent over the past six years, but there are no reported figures for gang rape.

On Sunday, a 23-year-old medical student was admitted to a hospital in Delhi after being raped by several men on a moving bus. The case garnered national attention,  briefly shuttering India's Parliament on Tuesday and prompting calls by politicians for the death penalty for her attackers.

On Wednesday, about 100 students and activists gathered outside the New Delhi mansion of the city's chief minister, Sheila Dixit, protesting what they said was an inadequate response from the police and the government. Numerous protests are planned across Delhi over the next few days to call attention to the issue.

“Every girl and every woman needs safety,” said Hina, 20, a student at Jamia Millia Islamia University, who asked only to be identified by her first name. So far, though, the police and the government have been unable to provide it, she said. “No one is standing up for the people,” she said.

Protesters said they had hoped Ms. Dixit would emerge from her home so they could talk to her about the issue, but she did not. Instea d, at one point they were sprayed with a water hose. “I thought because Sheila Dixit was a lady, she would be sensitive to the pain” of a rape victim, said Hina. “But she is not.”

The Bihar student, meanwhile, is in a Banka government hospital in critical condition, the police said. Officials said the rape had happened on Dec. 15 but the case was not registered with the police until Tuesday. “Due to some social or family pressure they might not have come to the police,” said Mr. Barman. “But when they registered the case, we acted fast and detained accused persons this morning.”

Banka's deputy superintendent of police, B. K. Das, said in an interview that he had visited the victim in the hospital and recorded her statement. The police were on the job and working to arrest all of the accused, he said.