In this image taken from video obtained from Network 1 News and Information Syndicate (NNIS), which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Bikram Singh Brahma, center, a leader of India's ruling Congress party, is slapped by a woman in the village of Santipur, India, on Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013. Police said Brahma was visiting the village of Santipur on the Bhutan border when he entered a woman's house and raped her at 2 a.m. In a sign that attitudes might be changing since the rape of a 23-year-old woman in New Delhi, who died of severe internal injuries over the weekend, police have arrested Brahma. (AP Photo/NNIS)
In this image taken from video obtained from Network 1 News and Information Syndicate (NNIS), which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Bikram Singh Brahma, center, a leader of India's ruling Congress party, is slapped by a woman in the village of Santipur, India, on Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013. Police said Brahma was visiting the village of Santipur on the Bhutan border when he entered a woman's house and raped her at 2 a.m. In a sign that attitudes might be changing since the rape of a 23-year-old woman in New Delhi, who died of severe internal injuries over the weekend, police have arrested Brahma. (AP Photo/NNIS)
In this image taken from video obtained from Network 1 News and Information Syndicate (NNIS), which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Bikram Singh Brahma, center, a leader of India's ruling Congress party, is slapped by a woman in the village of Santipur, India, on Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013. Police said Brahma was visiting the village of Santipur on the Bhutan border when he entered a woman's house and raped her at 2 a.m. In a sign that attitudes might be changing since the rape of a 23-year-old woman in New Delhi, who died of severe internal injuries over the weekend, police have arrested Brahma. (AP Photo/NNIS)
Students shout slogans during a protest against a leader of the ruling Congress party, who was arrested on accusations he raped a woman in a village in the early hours of the morning, in Gauhati, India, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013. Footage on Indian television showed the extraordinary scene of local women surrounding Bikram Singh Brahma, ripping off his shirt and repeatedly slapping him across the face. A Dec. 16 gang rape on a woman, who later died of her injuries, has caused outrage across India, sparking protests and demands for tough new rape laws, better police protection for women and a sustained campaign to change society's views about women. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Indians stand in a queue to enter the District Court complex where a new fast-track court was inaugurated Wednesday to deal specifically with crimes against women, in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013. Indian police were preparing Thursday to file rape and murder charges against a group of men accused of sexually assaulting a 23-year-old university student for hours on a moving bus in New Delhi. The Dec. 16 attack on the woman, who later died of her injuries, has caused outrage across India, sparking protests and demands for tough new rape laws, better police protection for women and a sustained campaign to change society's views about women. (AP Photo/ Manish Swarup)
A young Indian girl lights a candle in memory of a gang-rape victim in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013. Indian police were preparing Thursday to file rape and murder charges against a group of men accused of sexually assaulting the 23-year-old university student for hours on a moving bus in New Delhi. The Dec. 16 attack on the woman, who later died of her injuries, has caused outrage across India, sparking protests and demands for tough new rape laws, better police protection for women and a sustained campaign to change society's views about women. Placard left reads "Why aren't you able to protect the womb that gave birth to you?" (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
NEW DELHI (AP) ? The companion of a woman who was gang-raped aboard a bus in New Delhi recounted in a television interview for the first time Friday how the pair was attacked for 2 1/2 hours before being thrown on the side of the road, where passersby ignored them and police debated jurisdiction issues before helping them.
The Dec. 16 attack has outraged Indians and led to calls for tougher rape laws and reforms of a police culture that often blames rape victims and refuses to file charges against accused attackers. The nation's top law enforcement official said the country needs to crack down on crimes against women with "an iron hand."
The 23-year-old woman died over the weekend from massive internal injuries suffered during the attack. Authorities charged five men with her murder and rape and were holding a sixth suspect believed to be a juvenile. A hearing in the case is scheduled for Saturday.
The woman and her male friend had just finished watching the movie "Life of Pi" at an upscale mall and were looking for a ride home. An autorickshaw driver declined to take them so they boarded the private bus with the six assailants inside, the companion told the Indian TV network Zee TV.
Authorities have not named the man because of the sensitivity of the case. The TV station also declined to give his name, although it did show his face during the interview. The man has a broken leg and was sitting in a wheelchair during the interview.
After a while, the men on the bus starting harassing and attacking the pair, he said.
"I gave a tough fight to three of them. I punched them hard. But then two others hit me with an iron rod," he said. The woman tried to call the police using her mobile phone, but the men took it away from her, he said. They then took her to the rear seats of the bus and raped her.
"The attack was so brutal I can't even tell you ... even animals don't behave like that," he said.
Afterward, he overheard some of the attackers saying she was dead, he said.
The men then dumped their bleeding and naked bodies under an overpass. He waved to passers-by on bikes, in autorickshaws and in cars for help.
"They slowed down, looked at our naked bodies and left," he said. After about 20 minutes, three police vans arrived and the officers began arguing over who had jurisdiction over the crime as the man pleaded for clothes and an ambulance, he said.
The man said he was given no medical care. Instead, he spent four days at the police station helping them investigate the crime. He said he visited his friend in the hospital, told her the attackers were arrested and promised to fight for her.
"She has awakened us all by her courage," he said. "People should move ahead in the struggle to prevent a similar crime happening again as a tribute to her."
On Friday, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said crimes against women and marginalized sections of society are increasing, and it is the government's responsibility to stop them.
"This needs to be curbed by an iron hand," he told a conference of state officials from across India that was called to discuss how to protect women.
He called for changes in the law and the way police investigate cases so justice can be swiftly delivered. Many rape cases are bogged down in India's overburdened and sluggish court system for years.
"We need a reappraisal of the entire system," he said.
In the wake of the rape, several petitioners appealed to the Supreme Court to take an active role in the issue of women's safety.
On Friday, the court dismissed a petition asking it to suspend Indian lawmakers accused of crimes against women, saying it doesn't have jurisdiction, according to the Press Trust of India. The Association for Democratic Reforms, an organization that tracks officials' criminal records, said six state lawmakers are facing rape prosecutions and two national parliamentarians are facing charges of crimes against women that fall short of rape.
However, the court did agree to look into the widespread creation of more fast-track courts for accused rapists across the country.
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