Call for crackdown on rape

The woman's death in a Singapore hospital over the weekend has fuelled the campaign against rampant sex attacks in the country.

Activists estimate that a woman is raped every 14 hours in the capital alone.

A fast-track court has already been established to hear rape cases in the capital.

But police have been accused of blaming victims of attacks and failing to file charges against alleged rapists.

Mr Shinde signalled plans to change the law and the way police mount investigations to speed up the prosecution process. Tougher punishment for sex crimes is one of the areas to be considered by a committee convened after the December 16 attack and chaired by ex-chief justice JS Verma.

And the Communist Party of India (Marxist) set out its demands today for a legal shake-up.

Among its proposals are an extension of the law to cover soldiers and paramilitary forces and a strict three-month time limit on the amount of time a rape case should take to conclude.

Victims of sexual assault should receive rehabilitation that includes payment for medical bills, counselling and possibly a government job, it added.

But the CPI(M) said the government should also act to ensure better school education to tackle rampant infanticide of girls, ban sexist advertising and enforce existing laws against so-called "honour killings."