Exactly two weeks since she was raped, mauled, violently attacked by six men and then thrown off a chartered bus in south Delhi late December 16 evening, the 23-year-old bravehart was cremated at a private ceremony early Sunday morning.

This came as the youth have begun a new wave of protest at Jantar Mantar, echoed by youth and concerned citizens in many parts of the country, calling for stricter laws and policing to stop crimes against women and better governance.

The braveheart’s last rites were performed hours after her body was flown home from Singapore.

According to PTI, the Delhi Police had approached officials of a crematorium in southwest Delhi only late Saturday night, urging for an early-morning cremation of the 23-year-old. Like the decision to fly off the victim, then extremely critical, to Singapore, the cremation plans were also kept a tight secret till the last moment, as the police apprehended that a large gathering might cause “law and order problems”.

While the authorities wanted the last rites to be performed at 6.30 am, their plans did not go through, as Hindu traditions did not allow cremation before sunrise.

It finally took place at 7.30 am, with the victim’s father lighting the funeral pyre in the presence of her brothers, relatives and others.
The police had approached officials of New Indian Education and Cultural Society, which runs a crematorium in Dwarka, around 10 pm on Saturday (December 29) and told them to arrange for cremation at 6.30 am on Sunday.

"We were told about the victim. We made arrangements (and) our priest Vijender Sharma guided the rituals. The cremation was planned at 6.30 am but as per Hindu traditions, we cannot conduct such rituals before sunrise. So we had to wait till 7.30 am," Sunil Kumar, manager of the society, was quoted by PTI.

Body brought back, security raised

The body, which was brought to Delhi from Singapore in a special Air India flight in the small hours of Sunday, was taken to the victim's residence amid heavy security around 3.30 am.

A large posse of Delhi Police, Rapid Action Force (RAF) and BSF personnel in riot gear accompanied the ambulance carrying the body to the victim’s house. The locality around her house was also fortified.

After performing the rituals at home, the body was taken to the crematorium in an ambulance with similar security arrangements.
A senior police official said the security arrangements were made to ensure that the cremation takes place peacefully. There were violent protests last weekend following the gangrape and brutal assault on the 23-year-old paramedic.

The family and relatives were brought to the crematorium in a bus accompanied by police.

At the crematorium, the entrance was blocked for the public and media.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi went to the airport to receive the body and console the family.
Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit went to the crematorium and placed a wreath. Minister of state for home affairs RPN Singh, West Delhi MP Mahabal Mishra and Delhi BJP chief Vijender Gupta also attended the cremation.

The police had approached the government on Saturday and proposed that the body be taken directly to Ballia in Uttar Pradesh, via Lucknow or Varanasi, but the government decided against it, sources said. The family comes from Ballia.