By Jess McCabe | 5 May 2005, 09:36

A woman in India has rejected a courtroom plea from her rapist to marry him, the BBC reports today.

Unbelievably, the judge halted sentencing proceedings at the last minute, to allow the man, who had already been found guilty of raping and seriously injuring the 22 year-old nurse, to propose. She sustained a gouged eye and facial scarring during the attack.

The nurse rejected the proposition out of hand: “I will not marry him. It is horrible, audacious… he should be given the severest punishment.

“He should be hanged so that such a horrendous act is not repeated with any other girl.”

Women’s rights campaigners in India have said that the case may set a dangerous precident, with other rapists seeking to evade tough sentences by seeking marriage with their victims. Rape victims are highly stigmatised in India.