The victims, a 22-year-old woman, Jyoti Singh and her male friend, were returning home on the night of 16 December 2012 after watching the film
Life of Pi at
PVR Select City Walk,
Saket and then took an
auto rickshaw till
Munirka Bus Stand. They boarded the bus at Munirka for
Dwarka at about 9:30 pm (
IST). There were only six others in the bus, including the driver. One of the men, identified as minor, had called for passengers telling them that the bus was going towards their destination. They took 10
rupees each as fare from both the victims. Her friend became suspicious when the bus deviated from its normal route and its doors were shut. When he objected, the group of six men already on board, including the driver, taunted the couple, asking what they were doing alone at such a late hour.
During the argument, a scuffle ensued between her friend and the group of men. He was beaten, gagged and knocked unconscious with an iron rod. The men then dragged Jyoti to the rear of the bus, beating her with the rod and raping her while the bus driver continued to drive. A medical report later said that she suffered serious injuries to her abdomen, intestines and genitals due to the assault, and doctors said that the damage indicated that a blunt object (suspected to be the iron rod) may have been used for penetration. That rod was later described by police as being a rusted, L-shaped implement of the type used as a
wheel jack handle.
According to police reports Jyoti attempted to fight off her assailants, biting three of the attackers and leaving bite marks on the accused men. After the beatings and rape ended, the attackers threw both victims from the moving bus. One of the perpetrators later cleaned the vehicle to remove evidence. Police impounded it the next day.
The partially clothed victims were found on the road by a passerby at around 11 pm. The passerby called the
Delhi Police who took the couple to
Safdarjung Hospital, where Jyoti was given emergency treatment and placed on mechanical ventilation. She was found with injury marks, including numerous bite marks, all over her body. According to reports, one of the accused men admitted to having seen a rope-like object, assumed to be her intestines, being pulled out of the woman by the other assailants on the bus. Two blood-stained metal rods were retrieved from the bus and medical staff confirmed that "it was penetration by this that caused massive damage to her genitals, uterus and intestines".
On 19 December 2012, Singh underwent her fifth surgery which removed most of her remaining intestine. Doctors reported that she was in "stable but critical" condition. On 21 December, the government appointed a committee of doctors to ensure she received the best medical care. By 25 December, she remained
intubated, on
life support and in
critical condition. Doctors stated that she had a fever of 102 to 103 °F (39 °C) and that internal bleeding due to
sepsis was somewhat controlled. It was reported that she was "stable, conscious and meaningfully communicative".
During the six-hour flight by air-ambulance to Singapore on 27 December, Jyoti suddenly went into a "near collapse", which a later report described as a cardiac arrest. The doctors on the flight created an
arterial line to stabilise her, but she had been without pulse and blood pressure for nearly three minutes and never regained consciousness in Singapore.
On 28 December, at 11 am (IST), Jyoti's condition was extremely critical. The chief executive officer of the Mount Elizabeth Hospital said that the victim suffered brain damage, pneumonia, and abdominal infection, and that she was "fighting for her life." Her condition continued to deteriorate, and she died at 4:45 am on 29 December.
