Nirbhaya’s mother Asha Devi recounted her over seven years of struggle in contesting the legal battle, which finally concluded with the execution of four convicts Mukesh Singh, Akshay Singh Thakur, Vinay Sharma and Pawan Gupta — on March 20. One of them, Ram Singh, allegedly committed suicide in the Tihar Jail days after the trial began in the case and another, a juvenile, was released in 2015 after spending three years in a correctional home.
The case pertains to the brutal gang rape and killing of a 23-year-old paramedical student in a moving bus on the night of December 16, 2012, by six people including a juvenile in the national capital. The woman had died at a Singapore hospital a few days later.
Our wait for justice was painful and agonising but we finally got it, Asha Devi, the mother of Nirbhaya said minutes after four of her daughter’s rapists and killers were hanged at Delhi’s Tihar Jail this morning, over seven years after the young medical student was gang-raped and tortured on a moving bus in the capital.
“We will continue our fight for justice for India’s daughters. Our wait for justice was painful and agonising. We finally got justice,” she told reporters.
Nevertheless, there was a delay but finally, it concluded with what the convicts really deserved, the bereaved mother Asha Devi mentioned, “This was the first time in the Indian history that four rapists were hanged to death, which sent a strong message to the society that no mercy will be shown to brutal criminals existing in the society.”
“Nirbhaya has got justice. This is the first December 16 after the four rape convicts have been hanged to death,” Asha expressed her satisfaction with the legal systems. It has also reimposed faith in the legal system among those rape survivors, who were fighting for justice.“Eight years ago, I committed myself to raise my voice against the rape incident. Now my pledge to fight for justice for rape victims will continue in the future,” she said. The bereaved mother also suggested: “to change the mindset of men, which will work in containing such an incident”.
The case had created an uproar across the country, where a large number of people came out on the streets, demanding justice for the victim, who was renamed ‘Nirbhaya’ or the fearless. She said that it might be that Nirbhaya was served justice but the pain would remain with us forever.
