Smriti Irani hails hanging of Nirbhaya convicts, says 'It's a message to everyone'

Union Minister Smriti Irani on Friday lauded the execution of the four convicts in the Nirbhaya rape-and-murder case. According to the minister, the hanging of the convicts is a message to everyone.

Speaking to the media, she said, "Since several years I have seen a mother's struggle for her daughter's justice. Today morning, it brought hope that even though the justice was delayed, it has prevailed. This is a message to every person who dares to do something against a woman. This is a message to every person who thinks that they can rape any woman and won't be held under the law. This is a message to every criminal that one day a law will catch up with you."

She further added, "I, today, greet this day with aplomb that Nirbhaya has finally received justice."

Nirbhaya Convicts Hanged

Seven years and three months after, on March 20 the four convicts in the Delhi 2012 rape and murder case were hanged to death in Tihar jail. This was the first time that four men were executed together in Tihar Jail, South Asia's largest prison complex that houses more than 16,000 inmates.

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A guard of not less than 10 constable, warders, and two head constables, head warders or an equal number from the prison armed guard, were also present, it states. Meanwhile, hundreds of people had gathered outside the Tihar central jail ahead of the execution on Friday morning to celebrate. 

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The Nirbhaya Case

A 23-year-old paramedic student Nirbhaya was gang-raped inside a running bus by six persons on December 16, 2012, in Delhi. The victim was severely assaulted and thrown out on the road along with her male friend and succumbed to injuries a few days later. Out of the six convicts, one reportedly committed suicide in prison, while another, a juvenile, served maximum punishment of three years in a reform home and was set free in 2015. The remaining four rapists were convicted and handed the death penalty by a trial court in 2013, confirmed by the Delhi High Court in March 2014. The Supreme Court upheld the Delhi High Court's verdict in 2017. 

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