New Delhi:
Amid outpouring of anger and grief in the country, the body of the 23-year-old medical student, who was brutally gang-raped in a moving bus in Delhi, was flown to the national capital from Singapore early this morning and cremated within hours.
Her body was flown to Delhi in a Special Aircraft of Air India and after landing at the Indira Gandhi International 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 Dr Singh and Mrs Gandhi spoke to the family members and consoled them.
The body was then taken to her Delhi residence before being cremated. Minister of state for Home Affairs R P N Singh, West Delhi MP Mahabal Mishra, Delhi BJP chief Vijender Gupta were present at the cremation.
Media was not allowed in the crematorium.
A Special aircraft of Air India carrying the mortal remains of the girl, who died in Mount Elizebeth hospital on Wednesday morning, landed at the airport at around 4:15 am.
The girl was gang-raped and brutally assaulted allegedly 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 damaged internal organs in 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.