India has finally brought the atrocious Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case to an end with hanging four men who had been convicted of raping and murdering a young woman on a moving bus in Delhi in 2012.
The four convicts in the case that were hanged on Friday morning at the Tihar Jail were – Mukesh Singh, approximately 30, one of the ring leaders and the brother of the bus driver, Ram Singh (who had committed suicide in jail in 2013), Pawan Kumar Gupta aged 25, a fruit seller who came from the same rundown neighborhood and joined the others in the assault, Akshay Kumar, approximately 30 and Vinay Sharma, approximately 25, a part-time gym instructor who also lived in the neighborhood and participated in the rape.
The last legal challenges of the men were rejected around 3:30 AM. The convicts had refused to eat and were up much of the night before being led to the gallows around 5:30 AM.
The outskirts of the jail witnessed a small crowd gathered, counting down to the hanging.
The 23-year-old victim was a physiotherapy intern who had aspired of becoming a doctor and had asked her parents to use her wedding money for education, who after the incident came to be known as Nirbhaya, the one who is Fearless.
Nirbhaya slept to death after battling the grave injuries she sustained in the attack sparked uncomfortable discussions about the abuses that countless Indian women suffer every year.
Nirbhaya‘s mother and the Lawyer on the hanging –
After the execution of the convicts, Nirbhaya‘s mother said that “even if delayed, her daughter got justice”. “Our faith in justice is restored”, said the mother.
The case could finally see its conclusion after the two brave women who have constantly fought and battled for a period of seven years, Nirbhaya’s mother and Nirbhaya’s lawyer, Seema Khushwaha.
Seema Khushwaha expressed her satisfaction after the execution saying, “justice has been delayed, but it has been served”. “It would have been a happy day if we would have been able to save Nirbhaya. Today, I’m satisfied that justice has been served”.
