Google Lights A Candle To Salute Delhi Gang-Rape Victim

Google has joined India in mourning the death of the Delhi gang-rape victim who succumbed to her injuries at a Singapore hospital Saturday.

The search engine giant has placed a lighted candle on its India search page, honoring the 23-year-old rape victim who had valiantly fought death for 13 days despite sustaining serious injuries during the attack.

The image of a lighted candle has been placed below the search bar on the google.co.in home page and the alt text of the image reads - “In memory of the Delhi Braveheart.”

Though Google is known for celebrating or observing the birthdays/anniversaries and important events through its interactive doodle called “Google Doodles,” this was apparently for the first time that it is honoring a rape victim.

On Sunday, Google Plus carried a post, paying its tribute to the victim. The post with an image of a lighted candle read: “Saluting the courage and fortitude of the Delhi brave heart. Our humble tribute.”

The paramedical student was brutally raped and thrown out of the bus by a gang of six persons in a moving bus Dec.16. She was travelling with a male friend who also sustained injuries in the attack. However, he survived.

She was first treated in Delhi’s Safdarjang Hospital where she underwent three major surgeries. She was transferred Thursday to Singapore’s Mount Elizabeth Hospital for treatment after her situation worsened in Delhi following a cardiac arrest that damaged her brain.

The incident and the gang-rape victim’s death have triggered a series of public protests in India. The issue brought the increasing incidents of violence against women in India to the nation’s focus, forcing the government to promise tougher laws against the offenders to curtail such crimes.