The mother of one of the Delhi gang-rape accused has pleaded mercy for his son, saying even God gives every person a second chance.
Arguments for the sentencing of four convicts in the gruesome Delhi gang-rape case, that had triggered unprecedented public outcry against crimes on women, began in the Saket court on Wednesday morning.
Reportedly, the Delhi Police has sought maximum punishment for the convicts and the prosecution lawyer termed the crime ‘grotesque, diabolical, barbaric’.
While the lawyer of one the convict, Pawan Gupta, has said that the 19-year-old should be shown leniency and given a chance to reform.
The four men were convicted by a fast track court on Tuesday for gang-raping a 23-year-old paramedical student in December last year.
Of the six accused of the brutal gang-rape, a fifth suspect committed suicide by hanging himself in the jail. And the sixth accused was found a minor, when the crime was committed, so he has been sentenced to three years in a reform centre, the maximum punishment for a juvenile criminal in India.
According to agency reports, the mother of one of the accused, Vinay Sharma, has beseeched mercy for his son, saying ‘they are hard workers. Not one complaint against them. The judge should give them a second chance to reform themselves. Even God gives every person a second chance’.
Sharma’s lawyer had cited his age during arguments, saying that he needed to be given a chance to reform, while, the lawyers of other accused have also pleaded for clemency.
Simultaneously, the victim’s parents have said that they would not be contented with anything less than death penalty. According to reports, the victim’s mother said “we are hoping for justice today. The men have committed a horrible crime and behaved like animals. They should be hanged. Only death penalty will give our daughter justice.”
The victim’s father said “I will be stepping out of the house today with the hope that my daughter gets proper justice. Justice in this case will only be death penalty.”
The incident triggered nationwide fury over the rising cases of crime against women in India and people hit to streets across the country for days, demanding stringent laws and stern punishment to the accused.
I would not judge whether the punishment should be death penalty or life imprisonment, but being a girl, I would want that the quantum of punishment should be such that would send shivers down the spine of all criminals.
