India Rape Protests: Injured Policeman Dies

An Indian policeman who was injured in clashes during a protest over a gang-rape in New Delhi has died.

The 47-year-old police constable, Subash Tomar, was deployed at the India Gate monument on Sunday to control the protests.

He was beaten up by a mob and rushed to hospital by the police.

"The protesters pelted stones at Tomar, he was unconscious for two days and today he died," New Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said.

More than 50 policemen were injured in Sunday's violence as police struggled to quell increasing outrage over sex crimes following the gang-rape of a student.

Tomar's cousin Ajay who was in the hospital to claim the body said he had joined the police in 1985 and never spent a single festival with the family.

"My cousin was always out on streets maintaining law and order. The mob attacked him for no reason. They just killed him," said Ajay Tomar.

Much of central Delhi remains sealed off after the wave of violent protests over the gang-rape of a 23-year-old student in the capital and a surge in violence against women.

Protests have taken place across India over the last week to denounce the police and government.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has appealed for calm in the city.

His pleas were echoed by the victim's father.

"Please pray for my daughter and do not resort to any violent activity. She needs your support and your prayers," the father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the Hindi-language News 24 network.

"My daughter is fighting for her life, but she is very strong and has a strong will to live."