Nirbhaya rapists to be hanged on January 22
NEW DELHI : Four convicts in Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case will be hanged on 22 January at 7 am in Tihar jail, a Delhi court said today. Mukesh Singh, 32, Pawan Gupta, 25, Vinay Sharma, 26, and Akshay Kumar Singh, 31, will be executed together at Tihar jail, where officials had started preparing a month ago.
All four reportedly broke down in jail after the death warrant. The order was pronounced by Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora who issued death warrants against them.
The court had today reserved order on issuing of death warrants against four convicts in the 2012 Delhi gangrape and murder case. Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora said he will pronounce the order later today. As the judge pronounced the order, the courtroom was packed and thick with emotion. Nirbhaya’s parents as well as family members of the convicts wept.
Just before the order, the mother of convict Mukesh Singh had walked up to Nirbhaya’s mother and pleaded with her. “I appeal to you to forgive my son. I am begging for his life,” she said, holding her sari before her in a gesture of begging. “I had a daughter too. How can I forget what happened with her? I have been waiting for justice for seven years…,” Nirbhaya’s mother responded.
“I am happy with the court’s decision. The convicts will be hanged on 22. This decision will instill fear in people who commit such crimes,” Badrinath Singh, father of gang-rape victim told “This judgement will reinforce people’s faith in the judiciary and empower women. My daughter will get justice,” said Nirbhaya’s mother.
“Absolutely. Execution of the four convicts will empower the women of the country. This decision will strengthen the trust of people in the judicial system,” she said.
The 23-year-old girl was gangraped and murdered by six men on a moving bus on 16 December 2012. The main accused, Ram Singh, allegedly committed suicide in Tihar Jail during the trial. Another accused was a minor at the time of the commission of the crime and was sent to a reform facility and released after three years.
The 23-year-old, who came to be known as “Nirbhaya (fearless)”, died days after she was raped on a moving bus, tortured with an iron rod and dumped on the road, naked and bleeding, on December 16, 2012. She and her friend had boarded the bus from south Delhi after a movie.
It was a crime of staggering brutality that provoked street protests across the country – and even other countries – and became a turning point for laws to ensure the safety of women.
The convicts have 14 days to use their final legal options. They will be in separate cells, in solitary confinement, and will be allowed one last meeting with their families.
Last month, the Supreme Court had dismissed the last review petition filed by Akshay Kumar Singh. Nirbhaya’s parents then asked a lower court to issue a death warrant but the judge had deferred a decision until today. Nirbhaya’s mother had wept before the judge, who had consoled her saying he was bound by the law.
Arguing against any review of the death sentence, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had said last month: “There are certain crimes where ‘humanity cries’ and this case is one of them. On that fateful day, God also must have held his head in shame for two reasons. First, for not being able to save the innocent girl, and second, for having created these five monsters.”
The execution is expected to take place in Jail 3 of Tihar, where dummy trials have been carried out to test the gallows. Officials say ropes have been brought from Buxar, Bihar, the kind used to hang Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru in 2013.
