On December 16, 2012, 23-year-old physiotherapy intern Jyoti Singh, widely known as Nirbhaya, was gang-raped and brutally assaulted inside a moving private bus in South Delhi.

The crime involved extreme violence, including the use of an iron rod, and she succumbed to her injuries 13 days later, on December 29, 2012.

The sheer brutality of the attack and her death triggered mass protests across India and around the world, forcing a national reckoning on women’s safety and the failures of the justice system.

The case led to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 (Nirbhaya Act), which strengthened laws on sexual offences and expanded definitions of rape and assault.

December 16 is observed as Nirbhaya Day, commemorating Jyoti Singh and serving as a reminder of the ongoing struggle against sexual violence and the demand for accountability and reform.
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