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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.
Comments (100) Closed
Absolutely correct verdict.................now the Human Rights people will get active to justify their presence.
Still,a long way to go till they are hanged to death. First,there will be an appeal in the high court then the Supreme Court,followed by an appeal to the President for converting the death sentence into life imprisonment. This process needs to be fast-tracked.
finally.........
Well done Indian courts.. Pakistani courts should take a cue from their Indian counterparts
Irrespective, Our heads collectively hang in shame.
Hang them publicly and the sentence should be carried out swiftly without any further appeal options!!!!
Justice needs to be served. People need to be held aacountable for their actions. This is the only way to set an example for those even thinking about these heinious crimes..
Well done India... well done
and in other news in Pakistan killers of a young man were pardoned by the victim's parents :(
They should be castrated before hanging them.
I am happy about the decision and hope effective implementation of the verdict. May the victim RIP.
And in Pakistan the Council on Islamic Ideology ruled that DNA cannot be used as primary evidence against a rapist. What a shame that these Mullahs have no clue of DNA technology.
The court has rightly awarded death sentence to these criminals. However, when Pakistani courts award death sentence to the terrorists the European Union objects to capital punishment. How will the EU react to the award of capital punishment by the Indian court? Pakistan should take up this matter with EU and our media should highlight this duplicity.
I was watching a BBC documentary on how India is unsafe for women and I am sorry to say this but if you look around india's heavily populated areas women or girls of all ages dress from one extreme to another. I see girls/women wearing abaya to girls who are wearing short skirts and tight shirts. Its like they are inviting people to harass them, literally!! I am from Pakistan and I have not seen women or girls dressing in public in such extreme (except in fashion shows ramp, you will get to see just about anything) but even then sexual assaults and harassments are happening probably everyday, just not reported!!
All rapists should be dealt like this.
A step in the right direction towards empowering women of India to come forward to seek justice when crimes are committed against them.
Justice Yogesh Khanna framed the sentence appropriately by saying "Court cannot turn a blind eye to such a gruesome act." He also said, "When crime against women is rising on day-to-day basis, so, at this point in time court cannot keep its eye shut. This is a time when serious crime against a woman has come to the fore and now its judiciary's responsibility to instil confidence among the women."
This is an immoral sentence, we have become a barbaric society, in our greed, lust and corruption we are so angered and our senses so clouded with emotions of hate and vengeance that we are now baying for blood. This is not the India I belong to, this is not the nation the Mahatma had envisioned, how quickly we have forgotten the Mahatma and everything he stood for. Justice of vengeance, an eye for an eye, will make the world blind, do you remember who said that. Tv channels are broad casting with a sick, perverse glee, "justice has been served", has it really, why couldn't we consider rehabilitating the four men, to make them useful, productive citizens and contribute to society.
By bringing back the death sentence for rape followed by murder, rather than acting as a deterrent, every rapist will murder their victim in any case. India should address this problem of violence against women in a different way. The death penalty has never been a deterrent.
Excellent.
So what's the plan for stopping more rapes from happening in the future? There is no plan!!!
Even if these guys were left free, they would probably not dream of raping a girl again. The problem is the remaining male population of India, not these four.
Good thing that this case was not heard in Pakistan, and the culprits weren't from riches, otherwise, the justice would have never been delivered. In Pakistan, justice system is only good for poor and non-influencial people ... others get away with murders by providing blood money!
Excellent.
So what's the plan for stopping more rapes from happening in the future? There is no plan!!!
Even if these guys were left free, they would probably not dream of raping a girl again. The problem is the remaining male population of India, not these four.
A just punishment for these violent men. A small part towards a future solution would be to change the Indian dowry customs to make marriage affordable. The film culture should change and not show semi-nude women in their films. Maintain the proper Indian culture in the film industry. Going after western values without western level of education and protective en-forcible laws will make such occurrences more frequent. Please make changes at several levels so this punishment will become a proper deterrent to others confused by the prevalent non-Indian customs.
Justice carried since the person was not influential.
@Farhat: You need to come out of the paradigm that rape is invited by women and is a crime of lust. Its a crime of power, subversion and male dominance. Read about it and learn. Rapes in Pakistan have been higher on a per 100,000 population.....but you need 4 witnesses to prove rape.....there goes justice for the woman......compare that with the judgement in Indian courts
@Farhat:
That is the most male chauvinistic thing I have read. Why should women change the way they dress? Why can
@Farhat: First of all be clear that India is not a muslim country, but a progressive country, which want to go ahead with time but not want to stuck with the time of 1400 years back. Now, for your point in western world you see, may be in BBC documentry again, that there girls wear all sorts of dress, but never attacked by males, the simple reason, which you are unable to understand, is that rules are strict and are being followed. In India or Pakistan if we start giving this kind of punishment, I am dead sure that if a girl walking nude also, no one has courage to rape her.
@Farhat: So the logical conclusion from your staement is that no rapes occur in Muslim countries where women dress 'modestly'?
@Farhat:
Matter of perspectives. Generally speaking, most Indian girls (like girls from other similarly oriented countries) are careful about how they dress based on where they're going and who is with them. A girl travelling alone on public transport would prefer not to wear too revealing an outfit. But, to change tracks here. There are enough pictures of placards carried by protesters in recent months which read something like this "Don't ask me to cover up. Ask your sons not to rape". Pretty apt statement about where the onus lies. Just because an Indian girl prefers to wear a tight pair of jeans or a revealing blouse does not give anyone the right to rape her. Unfortunately, rape seems to be a matter of opportunity. A girl will get raped if she is in the wrong place at the wrong time, even if she is wearing a salwar kameez. Like what happened in Bombay recently.
these 6 rapist exercised there right in december,following, puplic were outraged and exercised it's rights,court gave it's verdict,,,death by hanging. Human rights watch should take a back,or else you are sentenceing poor victim who could not EXERCISE her right.
@Farhat: If dress would have the cause of rape..then justify rapes of 4 year olds
@Farhat: Even if a girl was nude on the streets, no one has a right to rape her and it is the duty of the government to protect her. If someone is turned on by mini skirts and he should have his eyes tied.
@S. Lalani: Funny..really funny
Very poor headlines... one rapist got a mere 3 yrs imprisonment ... almost nothing for such a heinous crime, just because he was 17. Rape is an adult crime ... he deserves adult punishment
@Farhat: Women have the right to dress sexily to attract men, and vice versa. They also have the right to accept or refuse the males who are attracted to them.
@M. Siddique: The issue with DNA is that it can only prove that sex took place. It cannot prove whether the sex was consensual.... that requires other supporting evidence.
@Farhat: I live is US and here the female dress code is very relaxed but people still behaves with norm.. dress is could be factor but no excuse to a crime.
The convicted would have wished they were in Pakistan and asked to be pardoned by the girls parents. They might have succeeded. Murderers do.
Death for rapists, nothing less.
Poetic injustice, while some rapists are sentenced to death, another rapist has been nominated to be the Prime Minister of India.
The death sentence is for murder not rape. I don't believe Indian law provides death for rape, to the best of my knowledge, only some Muslim countries have legal provision for death in rape cases, more notably Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Almost everybody in India and on this forum is demanding the Hudood Ordinance.
Completely agree with you (I'm an Indian). I think death penalty should be absolutely abolished everywhere and this "great" land of Gandhi should be severely criticized by human rights watch and other such groups. I fear that such groups are loudest when the public opinion is in their favor and otherwise remain silent. It is a disgrace to the justice system in India that so many executions take place here while the world is moving towards preserving individual rights. Another shameful example of violating individual rights for the utilitarian goal of making an example out of the case.
@Farhat: How many times does it have to be said until you will understand?! Women can dress how they choose! I am a free thinking, grown adult, and I will wear whatever I want to wear - it does not give anyone the right to harass or assault me. If you, or anyone else thinks it does, you should be locked up. Stop treating women as inferior beings and telling them how to live THEIR lives.
That's Justice Pure Islamic in a non Islamic country.
What do we have in Pakistan
Most importantly, they must be hanged while this incident is fresh in people's mind. Appeal within two weeks, rejection of mercy in the third and hanging by the fourth week. Shahryar
@Farhat: Women's dress is nothing to do with rape. Its all about criminal mindset of men which need to be changed to control this heinous crime..
"Kapde nahin...soch badlo..!!!"
Great news from neighbor country.. A visible justice...
@Farhat: Sorry Farhat, women decide how to dress themselves up. Please do not justify heinous acts. By the way, women in burqua get harassed all the time. Please open your eyes.
@Munazza: Probably due to fear of retribution
@Farhat: Does this mean that no rape take place in Pakistan? What about that law which requires "WITNESS OF 4 PIOUS MUSLIM MALES?" How about Pakistani girls bathed in acid? I am no more a Muslim, but I will prefer to shot a rapist between his eyes than watching PORN show to witness it in any court.
@Deendayal M.Lulla: Lulla Sahib, I hope and pray for a quick implementation of the court orders.
Let this be a lesson for other animals.
@Farhat: Absolutely right . But this is a religiously diverse society . You can't expect a Muslim girl to wear a mini skirt , no matter how much educated she is . Such ladies wear dress which will cover her full body .Even a mere jeans and T-shirt are some-what banned for them.Participation in jobs is very very less .You will be lucky if you find one in any company. But in other societies like Hindu,Christian,Sikh,Jain etc , ladies prefer to dress according to age . They have been given full rights by their families to study and to have a job . Now a days ,In these societies ladies are not preferred for marriage proposals if they don't earn . If things like molestation or rape is happening in our society , then these things are residuals of old conservative society . Even my fiancee earns more than me .we are trying to eradicate these kind of mindset which is only possible if we stand against it . It is not possible by teaching lessons of attire to ladies . I understand your thoughts , but probably that is the difference between upbringing of mine and yours by our respective societies .
@M. Siddique: Shame on you non-Mullahs. How can DNA test prove that the sexual intercourse was forceful or not? In order for it to be a Rape, the primary thing is to establish that it was FORCEFUL.
Excellent news! The culprits must be hanged. No "superior" court or person should change this court verdict - unless of course the changed verdict would be to "BURN THEM ALIVE".
And for those who commit acid attacks they must have acid thrown on their face and body to make it worse than the victim and be given prison sentences of 10 years, as a minimum.
Very scarce; but justice is about to be done!
@Farhat: dear either u are living in sawat or waziristan,,plz come to the streets in lhore and karaxchi u will see every thing
@Farhat: Please... smell the roses!!! Men should not behave like animals. Whether a person wears mini skirt or Abaya, none of them deserved to be raped. And I will tell you, even the Abaya women get raped. In Pakistan itself, 1000s of girls and women get raped and when poor go and complain they are thrown in jail themselves. Don't make excuses based on dresses.
@Farhat: India or Pakistan, The plight of women and crimes against them are the same. It is a shame. It is not the dress, it is the mindset that needs to be changed. Do you mean a women wearing full dresses not being harassed? Change your mindset! Respect women.
good to see that both Indian and Pakistani readers are appreciating the justice together.
@Farhat: okkkk..least we dont need 4 muslim men hangin out watching the rape for witnesses..lol..the whole point f the burkha is cause muslims think all men turn into sex filled idiots if they see a womans wrist...sorry bud maybe muslim men do but others dont..so crawl back into the stone age where ALL of you ll belong
I hope higher courts do not change the verdict.
Well.... at least somethings are done right in India.. I still can't figure out why prosecutors in Juvenile's case didn't change the strategy knowing maximum imprisonement for this guy is only 3 years. Indian law doesn't permit to do anything and indians will let this guy walk on the street in less than 2 years. what a shame!!.
@Farhat: What a woman wears has no bearing on her being raped or molested. There are cases of girls as young as three and five (like today's incident of a five year old girl being raped in Lahore) and as old as 50 and 55. Rape is about a man establishing his dominance over the woman.
Thanks Judge Yogesh Khanna Ji,
@Farhat: The logical conclusions from your statement is that: That there are no rapes in Pakistan where women dress modestly.
@Farhat: Ma'am, I am from Pakistan as well and I am sorry to hear that you think there are women out there who are inviting people to harass them. Regardless of whether you are naked or in an abaya or anything in between, no one has the right to harass you. We need to stop apologizing and making excuses for the assailants and start holding them responsible for their actions. By saying a woman is asking to be assaulted, you are saying that the assailant was helpless and had no choice. That the assailant saw a woman dressed a certain way and couldn't control the urge to rape her. That kind of thinking implies that the assailant was justified which is simply barbaric. You are implying that Pakistani girls don't get raped because they don't dress in such extremes. But oddly enough, you can look at any credible site and see that the statistics for rape and abuse towards women in Pakistan are sadly very high. Women get raped in an abaya. They get raped in tight shirts and miniskirts. And neither one is at fault. They are both the victims.
It's surprising people think this is a verdict that will prevent rapes.this verdict is for murder.if she had not been murdered,the sentence would have been a few years imprisonment which is what is happening in other cases of gangrape
@Ram Narayanan: Dont forget the teenager!
@M. Siddique: Thanks to the people who liked my comments.
The real test will come when and if these men are hanged. I hope that it happens sooner than later. It is not issue between Pakistan and India. It is a social issue, much bigger than the political divide. Capital punishment is an extreme measure, however, this horrendous crime has to have extreme punishment for the sake of deterrence. This is also not a gender issue. Women are human first, so as a human every woman deserves protection. Then they are women, mother's daughters and wives, they deserve respect. Finally, they are Hindu and Muslims and Then last they are Indian's and Pakistani's. So, first PROTECTION.
@Farhat: Choice of Women's attire has nothing to do with sexual assault. Nither wearing short dress a invitation to be assaulted Nor wearing Abaya any protection against these deviant criminals. Men need to be respectfull toward women and her choices .
While this verdict is the reward for the criminals for one of the most dreaded crimes, and let us hope it may send a strong message to the future criminals. This one turned out to be a high profile case, where the whole country erupted in protests and the international media too gave prominence to the same. While am sure 99.99% rejoice the verdict, there is still a LOT to be done to ensure the safety of women for which primarily the society has to change. Unfortunately our society even though has progressed still view women as inferior beings. We need a very effective police force and fast track courts to handle these cases. Anyway, a very good verdict and lets welcome it. I am waiting for rejoicing the day the 4 is hanged.
The punishment was for kidnapping, assault, attempted gang rape molestation AND murder by 'Rusted Iron Rod'. And to cool the public out cry. The criminals were NOT viable for sexual rape. The murder was the result of impotent hate of women not criminal lust. There is a difference.
Saying that it was for rape is untrue...rapes are a common part of daily live in Bharat; what about the thousands of rapes since the Rape Mobile Case? NO death sentences for them...
@Farhat: Stop thinking in terms of "respectable" women and those who are "asking for it"
@M. Siddique: One of the best comment ever Siddique g
@Ram Narayanan: better option would be stone to death in public and broadcast in live on national TV. It will catch some attention for sicko like them,
@Rahul : This is going on in india for the past 60 years the bigest democracy(voulchers) you can buy women in india for just 1 rupee forgod's sake stop this act of terroisom .a women is mothers sister wife.
May this same fate befall on all rapists. Rape is a heinous crime and the brutality shown by these rapists will make all women shudder. It is a Good judgement by the Saket Court.
@Farhat: Just a dress cannot become an invitation to get raped. Persons like you need to grow up in your minds.
@Parvez: but those perverts not belonging to human race . so how can humen right activities involve in this
I am an Indian Hindu, but i really impressed with some of Islamic law. its very great that how they dealing criminals in gulf countries. rapist cannot even think about there life after crime. they are being beheaded immediately.. in India there are so many loop holes ..i doubt that those criminals will be executed ..they can get life imprisonment relaxations .....if they were in soudi arabia they will hang public .so in that point we majority indian feeling that Islamic sheriat law is very strong and powerful........
@Farhat: You are pathetic.How can you blame women for this.You meant to say men are animals who cant control themselves when they see women in skirt,
Without any delays, the sooner this capital punishment is carried out the better for all of society and humans. May Allah Almighty rest her in Heaven. Ameen. Salams
Well done for India..... Pakistan also do same for the gang-rape attackers.
That's It, justice for All...
@Farhat: Why does wearing any dress be termed as invitation or no-invitation. Why cant women have freedom like men ?.. If what you say had been true, try explaining rapes of infant, and rapes in muslim countries, where girls have to bear Burqa !!.. These are pathetic excuses, made all over world that women 'invite' rape by certain dresses, actions etc. In fact its the pshye of male dominance, that is imbibed in boys in society that they have 'right' over time.. Its high time, that these societal notions be overhauled and rectified for a better world. Its the mentality of people that matter, not the dress, make up or whatever.
@Farhat: Women are still raped in Pakistan. I just read two incidents of rapes in Pakistan on Dawn website. One rape victim is a five year old girl and another one is a Peasant woman. What you have to say about that? It is the male mentality and not the clothes which makes men commit these crimes.
They are getting away lightly. Death by hanging is a merciful punishment considering the nature of their offence. However, Indian law is not administered by Taliban and this is the maximum punishment that can be given. I hope that the convicts will not be able to exploit the judicial review system. I pray that they are actually hanged at about 10.00 PM on 16 Dec 13, exactly one year after they shamed humanity. When they are being dragged to the gallows, they should be reminded of their deeds in graphic detail. I hope the executioner spits on their faces before covering them with black mask. But I wonder whether we will ever be able to secure justice for the thousands of other brutalised girls whose cases could not benefit from media attention.
Hang all of them who are including in rape even lawyers who are trying to save them hang them too, it's really shocking the bus scene, how she suffered from tortures five men with metal rode, how she bears only she knows and the rest of result was she died in hospital,..! It is my request to Government of india to judge that the judgement should be hang them simultaneously.
@illawarrior: Good to know that we all think the same. First time on Dawn. Com; wanted to see how Pakistani thinks about India and Indians. I am quiet surprised that we all think the same! :)
@Farhat: Please tell me which provocative dress that 5 year old child was wearing who is recently got raped in Pakistan. Be-Pardah kal jo Nazar aayi chand bibiyaan Akbar zameen mein ghairat-e-qaumi se gad gaya Poocha jo un se aap ka pardah wo kya hua Kehne lagi ki aqal pe mardon ke pad gaya !!!
@Farhat: You may have noticed in today's dawn, that there were 113 rapes and 32 gang rapes were recorded in Lahore. This only proves how you dress has no impact. It's just that men in general are twisted and as long as they think they can get away with it will prey on women.
Can I say just this please, If you kill them, then how will I be able to differentiate between these four men and you. Please think about it, killing is not the answer. Please think in terms of reforming and rehabilitating the four men. Life is precious, please cherish it.
@Chand: are you saying that the whole of Pakistan dresses modestly??
Lack of justice and punishment often resulted in further crimes which were fatal to innocent victims who need not have been victims if justice and severe punishment had been put first. At least you Indians have shown the courage and came out on streets to demonstrate. We Pakistanis are comfy discussing graves issues in our comfy drawing rooms
@illawarrior: In the present case, it is unlikely that the victim would have consented to have her body torn apart.
@js: Really! Would you like to volunteer to rehabilitate them and face the consequences if you fail to. People seem to forget that they didn't just rape but also murdered the girl. I used to be a bleeding heart liberal like you myself. But looking at where it got the country, more power to the Judge in this case.
@Hindustan Zindabad: Nobody cares what you think! These rapist also violated human rights of the victim. In fact, these low life on Earth, are not even humans, hence no human rights for them! Chill!
@MAF: I wasn't ,Farhat was.
@Farhat: What is your point man ????????????/
@Farhat: Yours is the thinking that we have to change