Police tear gas New Delhi gang-rape protesters

NEW DELHI (AFP) - Indian police on Saturday tear-gassed, baton-charged and fired water cannon at demonstrators on the sixth and most violent day of protests against the brutal gang-rape of a student last weekend.

Thousands of protesters, most of them college students, rallied at the India Gate monument in the heart of the Indian capital and then surged toward the sprawling presidential palace.

Angry protesters shouting "We want justice" called for better safety for women across the country as police struggled to control the crowd, while the 23-year-old victim was still battling for her life in a New Delhi hospital.

Some carried banners that read: "Hang them (the rapists) now," with the home minister later suggesting that India may consider the death penalty for rapists.