AN INDIAN fashion shoot has sparked outrage and calls for legal action for showing a woman being assaulted on a bus, echoing a fatal gang-rape that shocked the nation.

The project by photographer Raj Shetye called The Wrong Turn appeared in his online portfolio in recent days before being taken down, but the pictures have since been carried by various media outlets.

They show a female model dressed in high-end fashion garments being groped on a bus by a group of men, also stylishly dressed, in various poses.

In one image, the woman is on the floor with a man standing over her, while one shows her struggling with two men gripping her arms, and another has two men pinning her down on the seats.

Its "beyond disgusting" and said the photo shoot "Trivialises Sexual Assault Through 'The Wrong Turn'. — Gini RKhan (@giniromet) August 6, 2014

The shoot has drawn a torrent of criticism on social media in India, where the fatal gang-rape of a student on a bus in December 2012 sparked nationwide protests over levels of sexual violence against women.

Cheap Publicity... how insensitive people can be??? #‘The Wrong Turn’ by Raj Shetye https://t.co/f4GzYz2g1u via @YahooScreen — Anju Khatri (@AKhatri25) August 6, 2014

Nirmala Samant, chairwoman of the National Commission for Women, has written to Mumbai’s chief of police calling for an investigation over the photographs.

“Any person with common sense will understand this is nothing but glorifying of violence,” Samant said.

“I’m of the strong opinion that there should be some legal action because this is not artistic freedom, certainly not.”

Mumbai-based Shetye issued a statement in defence of his work, saying he had “tried to express myself through the medium I know best” and that the controversy was based on misinterpretation.

“The aim is purely to create art that will garner public opinion about issues that concern women,” he said.

“It breaks my heart to see my mother, my friends, my sister constraining themselves professionally and personally just to be safe.”

#rajshetye's 'Delhi gang rape' photoshoot is nothing new. #bollywood been depicting rape widely during 80's & 90's. We have to question why. — Andleeb Hanif (@andleebhanif) August 6, 2014

He said the clothes’ designers had not been credited as the shoot was not for commercial gain.

In the 2012 attack in New Delhi, a gang of six men raped a 23-year-old physiotherapy student, including with an iron rod, after she was tricked into boarding a private bus on the way home from the cinema with a male friend.

Shame on you Raj Shetye. The whole country spits on you and your team. #Shocked #Distraught — atiya zaidi (@atiyaz) August 6, 2014

The woman died 13 days after the attack from her injuries, after being flown to a Singapore hospital for specialist treatment.

The parallels in the fashion shoot drew anger on Twitter, with users describing the images as “shocking”, “disgusting” and “mind boggling”.

Photographer Raj Shetye's images show a model fighting off men on a bus, in a scene reminiscent of the rape and murder that shocked India. — Gini RKhan (@giniromet) August 6, 2014

Four men were convicted and sentenced to death last year over the 2012 attack.

Another was found dead in his cell in an apparent suicide and a juvenile was sentenced to the maximum of three years in detention.

People like #RajShetye makes one feel ashamed of being a part of such a society! #Sick — Siddhesh Sawant (@iamsidd_s) August 6, 2014

The gang-rape shone a global spotlight on India’s treatment of women and led to tougher laws to deter rapists, although attacks continue to be reported across the country daily.