Hundreds Attended a Candlelight Vigil Tonight In Honor of Indian Fatal Rape Victim

UPDATE: Members of the Tri-City’s Indian American community united for a candlelight vigil tonight to honor a 23-year-old woman who died Saturday after being severely beaten and gang raped in India.

Hundreds gathered for the vigil that began at 7 p.m. at the Fremont Hindu Temple, located at 3676 Delaware Dr.

The brutal attack on the victim, a young medical student, took place Dec. 16 in New Delhi when she and her boyfriend were lured into what appeared to be a commuter bus.

According to the L.A. Times, five men and a teenage boy beat the couple with metal rods and raped the woman, causing irreparable organ damage. The suspects have since been charged with murder.

The attack spurred people all over the world to demand awareness and reform in India.

According to the Fremont Argus, there were 600 rapes reported in New Delhi in 2012 but only one conviction.

Vigils and rallies have since been held throughout India as well as here in the Bay Area.

"We need to highlight that rape is part of a larger, systematic problem of violence against women, and it must never be accepted, never excused and never tolerated anywhere in the world,” Fremont planning commissioner Yogi Chugh told the Argus.

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