Delhi gets together to protest against alleged rape, murder of 9-year-old girl

Around a hundred people gathered near the site of the alleged crime, a crematorium in the capital, shouting slogans and continuing several days of protests.

New Delhi:  The alleged rape and murder of a nine-year-old in the capital has sent shockwaves across the nation. On Thursday (August 5), protesters gathered in India's capital where the crime allegedly took place.  Police allege that the girl was killed after she went to fetch water on Sunday from the crematorium near her house in New Delhi's Cantonment area. Her family said that when the girl did not return, they went looking for her, claiming they saw some of the alleged perpetrators who worked at the crematorium incinerating her body against the family's wishes. The incident drew domestic and international outrage, with the safety of women and girls in India a key political issue since the 2012 gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a bus in Delhi. The issue took a political turn with Opposition attacking the government and urging speedy resolution of the matter. On Thursday, around a hundred people gathered near the site, shouting slogans and continuing several days of protests. "She only went to fetch water and this happened to her," said one of the protesters, 27-year-old Tina Verma. "The people and her family want justice for what they have done."