Nirbhaya accused to hang on 22 January

The four men sentenced to death for the 2012 gang-rape and murder of a young medical student in Delhi will hang at 7 am on 22 January. A court in Delhi issued a death warrant in the case on Tuesday. Mukesh Singh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma, and Akshay Kumar Singh will be hanged together at the same time at Delhi’s Tihar Jail.

All four accused broke down in jail after the death warrant.

The 23-year-old known as Nirbhaya which means fearless  died days after she was raped on a moving bus, tortured with an iron rod and dumped on the road, naked and bleeding.

The crime provoked street protests across India. It became a turning point for laws to ensure the safety of women.

Nirbhaya’s parents as well as family members of the convicts wept after the verdict was held. Just before the order was announced, the mother of one of the convicts begged Nirbhaya’s mother for mercy. She made a gesture of begging and said, ”I appeal to you to forgive my son. I am begging for his life”. Nirbhaya’s mother said, “I had a daughter too. How can I forget what happened with her? I have been waiting for justice for seven years.”

The convicts will be kept in separate cells, in solitary confinement, and will be allowed one last meeting with their families.

Nirbhaya’s mother praised the verdict.

This judgment will reinforce people’s faith in the judiciary. My daughter will get justice, daughters of the country will get justice. Nirbhaya’s mother

“This decision will instil fear in people who commit such crimes,” her father said.

Watch in Sign Language