Police are expected to formally charge five of six suspects with murder over the death of 23-year-old woman gang-raped on a bus in New Delhi, India.

The sixth suspect is under 18 and a juvenile, but a police officer said a bone test had been ordered to confirm his age.

Under Indian law a juvenile cannot be prosecuted for murder.

New Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said today that a charge sheet on the case would be filed in court on Thursday.

The physiotherapy student died in a Singapore hospital where she had been sent for emergency treatment after the crime in India's capital on December 16.

The attack set off an impassioned debate about what the country needed to do to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.

Protesters and politicians have called for tougher rape laws, major police reforms and a transformation in the way the nation treats its women.

India's army and navy scrapped their New Year's celebrations, as did Sonia Gandhi, head of the ruling Congress party. Hotels and clubs across the capital also said they would forego their usual parties.

"She has become the daughter of the entire nation," said Sushma Swaraj, leader of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.

Hundreds of mourners continued their daily protests near parliament demanding swift government action.

"So much needs to be done to end the oppression of women," said Murarinath Kushwaha, whose two friends were on a hunger strike to draw attention to the issue.

Some commentators compared the rape victim, whose name was not released by police, to Mohamed Bouazizi, the Tunisian street vendor whose self-immolation set off the Arab Spring.

There was hope her tragedy could mark a turning point for gender rights in a country where women often refuse to leave their homes at night out of fear and where sex selective abortions and even female infanticide have wildly skewed the gender ratios.

"It cannot be business as usual anymore," the Hindustan Times newspaper said.

Politicians from across the spectrum called for convening a special session of parliament to pass new laws to increase punishments for rapists - including possible chemical castration - and to set up fast-track courts to deal with rape cases within 90 days.

The government has proposed creating a public database of convicted rapists to shame them, and prime minister Manmohan Singh has set up two committees to look into what lapses led to the rape and to propose changes in the law.

Responding to complaints that police refuse to look at cases of abuse or harassment brought by women, the city force has appointed an officer to meet with women's groups monthly and crack down on the problem.

There have also been proposals to install a quota to ensure one-third of Delhi's police are women and there have been signs of a change in the public debate about crimes against women.

Other rapes have suddenly become front page news in Indian papers and politicians are being heavily criticised for any remarks considered misogynistic or unsympathetic to women.

A state legislator from Rajasthan was ridiculed across TV news channels after suggesting that one way to stop rapes would be to change girls' school uniforms to trousers instead of skirts.

"How can he tell us to change our clothes?" said Gureet Kaur, a student protester in the Rajasthani town of Alwar. "Why can't girls live freely?"

Some activists have accused politicians of being so cosseted in their security bubbles that they have no idea of the daily travails people are suffering.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.