Orange flames from candles lit on the dais at the Kurla venue of the protests on Monday evening against the murder of the Hyderabad vet, burned defiantly refusing to go out in the slight evening breeze. "The flames are fierce like us," said activist Anita Shetty, at the programme held by an organisation called 'Me Kurlekar'. Kurlekars, which means the people of Kurla, were out in strength to express outrage, anger, analyse, introspect and call for an overhaul of the system. They were part of nationwide angst and rage calling for better safety for women, more teeth to police and laws and changes in mindset following the brutal crime.

"Hyderabad is many miles away, but our pain is sharp scything like a knife across the distance, our anger is a cauldron bubbling over and our voices are so loud they are one with the people," said Kurlekars. Shetty said, "The police attitude needs to change. In other cases, when a girl is reported missing, the common response by the police at first is: 'check with her friends, she may have run away herself, or the stock: 24 hours are not up yet. Out of 10 missing people, five may be found after 24 hours, they may very well have been with friends but what about the possibility of one being assaulted and killed within 24 hours?" she asked. Gabriel D'Mello, who was also at the protest, asked, "how many candles do we need to burn and how often?"