Death warrants issued for 2012 Delhi bus rape convicts

NEW DELHI: A court in Delhi on Tuesday issued death warrants for the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case of 2012.

The convicts will be hanged on January 22 at 7 am. They will have 14 days to file for legal remedies. The Indian Supreme Court had confirmed the death penalty awarded to one of the four convicts, Akshay in the gruesome case after dismissing his review plea in 2017 judgment.

On July 9 last year, the top court had dismissed the review pleas filed by the other three convicts – Mukesh (32), Pawan Gupta (25) and Vinay Sharma (26) – in the case stating no grounds have been made for the review.

The 23-year-old was gang-raped by six men on a moving bus on the night of December 16, 2012. The main accused, Ram Singh, allegedly committed suicide in Tihar Jail during the trial. Another accused was a minor and was sent to a reform facility and released after three years.

Speaking to Indian media, Nirbhaya’s mother Asha Devi hailed the verdict and said the order will restore the faith of women in law. “My daughter has got justice. Execution of the four convicts will empower the women of the country. This decision will strengthen the trust of people in the judicial system.”

Her father Badrinath Singh also expressed his happiness ” I am happy with the court’s decision. The convicts will be hanged at 7 am on 22nd January. This decision will instill fear in people who commit such crimes.”

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also said that the death sentence will act as a deterrent. “It will be a big lesson for all. Whoever abuses women will get a lesson from this. Nirbhaya’s parents and all of us were waiting for this news. Justice has finally been served.”

Nirbhaya is name of the December 2012 victim who was raped and brutalised in a moving bus in South Delhi by six people. The woman had boarded the nearly vacant bus along with a male friend on her way back home on December 16 that year and succumbed to her injuries on December 29, 2012.