Nirbhaya's ancestral village celebrate hanging of convicts

It was both Holi and Diwali, so to speak, in Nirbhaya's ancestral village of Medwara Kala here where her family members and locals gathered for celebrations after the hanging of the four men convicted of the heinous gangrape with her grandfather saying Friday marked a new beginning.

"March 20 should be celebrated as 'Nirbhaya Diwas'. It is a new beginning. The convicts were more dangerous than the 'corona' and they are no more now," Nirbhaya's grandfather Lalji Singh said referring to the coronavirus outbreak.

After the rape incident, we have not celebrated Holi or Diwali but we are celebrating both today, he remarked.

"The accused would have been executed earlier had Delhi's AAP government not favoured a mercy petition. There should be a time-bound decision on women-related crimes," he said.

Nirbhaya's uncle Suresh Singh along with other villagers chanted "Mil gaya, Nirbhaya ko nyay" (Nirbhaya got justice) and danced to tunes and played musical instruments while playing with colours.

The village was abuzz with activity since early morning with media personnel reaching there to catch a glimpse of the celebrations following the execution.

Mukesh Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31) were executed in Tihar Jail in New Delhi at 5.30 am for the horrific assault in a moving bus on the 23-year-old physiotherapy intern who came to be known around the world as Nirbhaya, the fearless one.