An Air India aircraft has been chartered by the government and sent to Singapore to bring back the body of the gangrape victim and her family members in New Delhi.

The chartered plane, an Airbus A-319, left the IGI Airport at 08:00 hours for Singapore and expected to return around 20:00 hours on Saturday after taking off from Singapore around 17:00 hours local time, Air India officials told PTI.

The aircraft is carrying some senior government officials, including those from the Union home ministry.

The 23-year-old victim of the brutal gang rape and assault in Delhi on December 16 that had triggered an outrage across India died early Saturday morning in Singapore after putting up a brave battle for life for nearly a fortnight.

The girl, who was admitted to the well-known multi-organ transplant facility Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore on Thursday morning in an extremely critical condition, breathed her last at 4:45am (2:15am India time).

She was earlier treated at the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi.