“She was supposed to get married in February to the same guy who was attacked on the bus with her,” said Meena Rai, who lived next to the 23-year-old medical student in Mahavir Enclave, a neighbourhood in southwestern New Delhi.
Meena Rai said that she had been shopping with the unnamed victim for wedding outfits and the contents of a wedding box known as trousseau.
“They had made all the wedding preparations and had planned a wedding party in Delhi,” she told AFP.
Usha Rai (no relation), who was also present for the cremation ceremony, confirmed that the woman had planned to marry in a matter of weeks.
“We know that she was going to get married in February,” she told AFP. “The whole neighbourhood was excited about it.”
The boyfriend also suffered serious injuries during a prolonged assault on a bus on the night of December 16 after they had spent the evening watching a movie at a multiplex in the Saket district of Delhi.
He has not spoken since the attack which reports said began when he defended his girlfriend after she was initially verbally abused by a group of six men.