Delhi gang-rape: justice delivered, but is this the end of the story?

Nine months after a young paramedical student was brutally gang-raped and murdered on a moving bus in Delhi, four men have been awarded death penalty for the heinous crime that outraged India, and frenzied protests were held asking for safety of women and swift justice for the girl who was cold-bloodedly murdered.

Four convicts- Akshay Thakur, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Mukesh Singh were sentenced to death by hanging by a fast-track court in Delhi. The judge, Yogesh Khanna, said it was the ‘rarest of rare crimes’ and deserved the death sentence.

He further said that they need to send a message to the society that it will not be tolerated.

The court noted that the girl and her male friend were maliciously assaulted, her abdomen ripped apart with an iron rod and internal organs pulled out. They were thrown out of the bus moving at a high speed and the accused also tried to run the vehicle over them. She was left on the road half-naked, seriously injured, severely bleeding and shivering in the winter chill.

Pronouncing the judgement, the court said “It cannot turn a blind eye to such barbaric and gruesome crime and the incident shook the collective conscience of the society.”

Reportedly, convict Vinay Sharma broke down as the sentence was declared.

The four-men have been convicted of gang-rape, murder, conspiracy, attempt to murder, unnatural offences, dacoity, destruction of evidence, kidnapping or abducting with intent to secretly and wrongfully confining a person, abducting to subject a person to grievous hurt and slavery, abducting woman to cause her defilement.

The judgement is mainly relied on the three dying declarations of the victim, the statement of her male friend, DNA analysis, forensic and electronic evidence.

Moments after the punishment was announced, along with his wife and sons, the victim’s father said “we are happy. Justice has been delivered.”

Welcoming the court’s decision, political fraternity, including home minister Sushilkumar Shinde said the girl has received justice and the court has set an example that if one commits a crime, then punishment will be meted out.

Meanwhile, the defence lawyer made baseless allegations on the government calling the judgement a political conspiracy. The lawyer made bizarre and imprudent statement saying “he will not appeal in the higher court against this verdict, if the rape crimes stop from tomorrow.”

The lawyers for the four convicts had appealed for leniency saying they were young and did not have previous criminal records and should be given a chance to reform.

Though, the court rejected the plea, saying “there is no chance for such criminals to be reformed. If death is not given to such criminals, the common man will lose faith in the courts. Society feels no woman is safe. It is for the courts to change that perception by handing down harsh punishment.”

However, this is not the end to the story. We all are waiting to know that when this death sentence will be executed and will this put an end to rapes in India?