Barnet’s Hindu community welcomed supporters of a protest against the abuse of women in India on Friday evening.

The Barnet Hindu Society arranged the meeting in the wake of worldwide protests over the rape and murder of a young woman on a bus in Delhi in December.

Poetry and presentations addressed what supporters describe as “the torture, victimization, and the suffering they have to endure at the hands of men specifically, and society in general”.

Attendees signed a petition that will be handed to the Indian High Commission in London opposing the mistreatment of women.

Society president Prem Modgil said: “It was a deeply emotional and sombre evening. The lighting of candles by the audience was a highly appropriate tribute to the departed soul. The soul of this innocent victim will, however, rest in peace only when the severest punishment is handed out to the perpetrators of such an abhorrently heinous crime.”