In India, police have arrested 13 men in connection with the gang rape of woman, allegedly ordered by village elders in West Bengal. <br /><br />Doctors say the 20-year-old, who was filmed being taken to hospital on Thursday, is in a serious condition. <br /><br />The suspects, including the village chief claimed to have handed down the rape sentence, have been remanded in custody. <br /><br />Police say a kangaroo court was held in Subalpur because the woman was having a relationship with a man from outside the village. <br /><br />Elders allegedly ordered the public gang rape, as her family were too poor to pay a fine. <br /><br />Women groups and opposition parties in India have called for action. <br /><br />“No one has the right to order a woman’s rape. This is unlawful and those responsible for the crime should be punished. The victim should be given justice,’‘ said Nirmala Sawant Prabhavalkar, a member of the National Commission for Women. <br /><br />Kirti Azad, the leader of Indian’s main opposition party Bharatiya Janata, also condemned the alleged rape. <br /><br />“Shameful acts are happening in our country. Unless the authorities take serious action and pass laws which create a sense of fear in people, such sad incidents will continue to happen,” said Azad.<br /><br />India is already reeling from a series of high profile cases of rape and extreme violence towards women. <br /><br />The latest incident follows protests in the country earlier this month, after a women who claimed she was gang raped was later burnt to death.
