Indian court orders hanging of Delhi gang-rape attackers

Published September 13, 2013
Indian students of Saint Joseph Degree college participate in an anti-rape protest in Hyderabad - Photo by AFP
Indian students of Saint Joseph Degree college participate in an anti-rape protest in Hyderabad - Photo by AFP

NEW DELHI: Four men were sentenced to death on Friday for fatally raping a young woman on a bus last December in an attack that triggered angry protests throughout India and widespread calls for their execution.

Judge Yogesh Khanna, who convicted the men for gang rape and “cold-blooded” murder earlier this week, rejected their lawyers' plea for a lighter sentence.

"“This has shocked the collective conscience of society,” he said, referring to the attack.

The four — Mukesh Singh, Akshay Thakur, Pawan Gupta and Vinay Sharma, aged between 19 and 29 at the time of the crime — had all pleaded not guilty to the charges.

“Everybody got the death penalty,” said A.P. Singh, the lawyer for Akshay Thakur and Vinay Sharma, outside the courtroom.

Vinay Sharma, a gym instructor, broke down in tears as the sentence was announced and had to be dragged out of the court.

The woman, a 23-year-old trainee physiotherapist, and a male friend were lured onto a bus by five men and a teenager. The woman was then repeatedly raped and tortured with a metal bar.

Her injuries were so severe that she died two weeks later in a Singapore Hospital.

She became a symbol of the dangers women face in a country where a rape is reported on average every 21 minutes and acid attacks and cases of molestation are common.

One of the five men arrested in connection with the attack committed suicide in prison in March, while the teenager was sentenced to three years in a reformatory last month, the maximum sentence that can be given to juveniles under Indian law.

The victim's parents, who were the forerunners of the death penalty in this case, have said their daughter's dying wish was for her attackers to be “burned alive”. They claimed they would not get closure unless the attackers were sentenced to hang.

The father of the victim, who was named Nirbhaya by Indian media which is a Hindi word for fearless, said he was "happy" with the verdict.

Flanked by his wife and sons, he told reporters inside the newsroom, "“We are very happy. Justice has been delivered."

Khanna's ruling still has to be ratified by the Delhi High Court, and the four men can appeal all the way to the Supreme Court.

The appeals process could take years, lawyers said.

Opinion

Editorial

Kurram atrocity
Updated 22 Nov, 2024

Kurram atrocity

It would be a monumental mistake for the state to continue ignoring the violence in Kurram.
Persistent grip
22 Nov, 2024

Persistent grip

PAKISTAN has now registered 50 polio cases this year. We all saw it coming and yet there was nothing we could do to...
Green transport
22 Nov, 2024

Green transport

THE government has taken a commendable step by announcing a New Energy Vehicle policy aiming to ensure that by 2030,...
Military option
Updated 21 Nov, 2024

Military option

While restoring peace is essential, addressing Balochistan’s socioeconomic deprivation is equally important.
HIV/AIDS disaster
21 Nov, 2024

HIV/AIDS disaster

A TORTUROUS sense of déjà vu is attached to the latest health fiasco at Multan’s Nishtar Hospital. The largest...
Dubious pardon
21 Nov, 2024

Dubious pardon

IT is disturbing how a crime as grave as custodial death has culminated in an out-of-court ‘settlement’. The...