India Convicts 4 in Bus Rape

An Indian court has convicted four men in the fatal gang rape of a young woman on a moving New Delhi bus, a case that set off waves of protests and gave voice to years of anger over the treatment of women. The men, convicted on all the counts against them, including rape and murder, now face the possibility of hanging. The sentences are expected to be handed down tomorrow. The men—along with another suspect who hanged himself in prison and a juvenile convicted last month—were riding through the city on an off-duty bus in December when they tricked the 23-year-old woman and a male friend into boarding.

They beat the friend into submission, held down the woman and repeatedly raped her. They also penetrated the woman repeatedly with an iron rod, causing severe internal injuries that led to her death two weeks later. Dozens of protesters gathered outside the courtroom, calling the case a wake-up call for India and demanding the death penalty for the men. "Every girl at any age experiences this—harassment or rape. We don't feel safe," a law school graduate said. "That's why we're here. We want this case to be an example for every other case that has been filed and will be filed." Click for more on the victim from her male friend, and from her dad. (More India stories.)