Outraged mother of daughter, who was gang-raped and murdered on a bus, demands faster justice, saying: ‘Crime against women continues’
- Delhi still awaits those convicted in the brutal rape of a medical student on a bus five years ago to be ‘hanged till death’
- The murdered woman’s mother said that when justice ‘isn’t served on time, people cease to be scared of the law’
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The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has been urged to bring in legislation allowing those convicted of raping minors to be given the death penalty within six months.
Swati Maliwal, chief of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), wrote to Modi, highlighting measures that need to be given immediate attention, to bring swifter justice for the victims of sexual abuse.
The need for speedy redress comes as Delhi waits for those convicted for the brutal December 16, 2012, gang-rape to be hanged till death.
Maliwal said the long, winding legal process allowed criminals to get away with such heinous crimes.
In her letter, she alluded to the brutal incident, and said that Nirbhaya’s mother was still running from pillar to post to see that her daughter received justice.
Asha Devi, Nirbhaya’s mother, has spoken out about the lack of quick justice
Asha Devi, Nirbhaya’s mother, said: ‘Even after five years, her culprits are alive. If justice isn’t served on time, people cease to be scared of the law.
‘A strong law needs to be formulated and mindset of everyone, be it a politician or a common man, needs to be changed. Crime against women still continues and no one says anything.’
Nirbhaya, a para-medical student, was brutally gang-raped on the intervening night of December 16-17 2012, in a moving bus in South Delhi.
The incident took place while she was returning with a friend after watching a movie. She died 13 days after the incident at a hospital in Singapore.
Asha Devi, left, with Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and DCW Chief Swati Maliwal on the fifth anniversary of the December 16 gang-rape and death of Nirbhaya
Of the six men arrested in the case, one accused, Ram Singh, hanged himself in prison in March 2013, while another, who was a juvenile at the time of the crime, was convicted in August and released from the correction home after serving a three-year sentence.
The other four — Akshay, Vinay Sharma, Pawan and Mukesh — were found guilty and sentenced to death by the Delhi High Court in September 2013, which was upheld by the apex court this year.
According to statistics from Delhi Police, the crime against women in comparison to 2012 has decreased.
Police officials say that their various initiatives, like setting up of dedicated anti-stalking cells, Sashakti — for self-defence of women — and Himmat app have encouraged victims to report abuse.
Maliwal has stressed on the need for fast-track courts in the city so that rapists are punished immediately.
Also, there is the need to upgrade the delivery mechanism of the forensic department as well as the accountability of the police, she said in the letter to Modi.
Karuna Nandy, lawyer who contributed to the 2013 anti-rape laws, told Mail Today: ‘In Delhi, the conviction rate in rape cases has dropped but the reporting of incidents since the December 16 gang-rape has gone up. Women are speaking up against violence.’