Last rites of Delhi braveheart performed in secrecy

New Delhi: Amid outpouring of anger and grief in the country, the body of the 23-year-old Delhi braveheart was flown here from Singapore early Sunday morning and cremated within hours. The mortal remains were flown to the national capital in a Special Aircraft of Air India and after landing at IGI airport, the plane was taken to its technical area where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi were present to receive the body. Both Singh and Gandhi spoke to the family members and consoled them.

The body was then laid to rest in the national capital amid heavy deployment of Delhi Police and RAF personnel. The last rites were performed under a dense cover of fog. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Minister of State for Home Affairs RPN Singh, West Delhi MP Mahabal Mishra, Delhi BJP chief Vijender Gupta also attended the last rites.

Media was not allowed at the site. A special aircraft of Air India carrying the mortal remains of the victim, who died in Mount Elizabeth hospital on Saturday morning, landed at IGI airport here at around 3.30 am. The girl, a physiotherapy student, was gangraped and brutally assaulted by six men in a moving bus in south Delhi on December 16 night.

While undergoing treatment at Safdarjung hospital, she was shifted to the Singapore hospital for further treatment. The aircraft AIC-380A took off from Singapore at around 12:30 am local time (10:00 pm IST Saturday), Indian High Commission officials said.

On the chartered plane, sent by the Indian government, were her family members who have been in Singapore since the girl was brought to the hospital here in an extremely critical condition. The victim, who underwent three surgeries, had suffered damage to her internal organs during the assault. She also suffered a cardiac arrest and brain injury.

Police have slapped murder charges, which has death penalty in rarest of rare cases, against the six accused and will file the chargesheet against them on January 3. Investigators said they will seek the harshest punishment for the culprits.