Four of the men who gang-raped and brutally beat a medical student in the Indian capital of Delhi last December have been found guilty.
Now, they face the death penalty over the gruesome bus attack that left the 23-year-old mutilated and suffering for weeks before her tragic death.
Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur and Pawan Gupta denied charges including rape and murder, and lawyers for three of the men said they would appeal against the convictions.
“I convict all of the accused. They have been found guilty of gang rape, unnatural offences, destruction of evidence… and for committing the murder of the helpless victim,” Judge Yogesh Khanna pronounced.
The attack sparked outrage last year and brought to light the pervasive, and often forgiving, culture of rape and abuse between Indian men and women. Eventually, the case prompted the introduction of new laws to punish those who commit sexual offenses.
Needless to say, supporters of those laws weren’t silent about what sentence they wanted for the four convicted.
Dozens of reporters as well as protesters calling for harsh sentencing gathered outside the court to await the verdict.
“Hang Them! Hang Them! Hang Them!” the demonstrators chanted soon after the verdict was passed down.
The victim’s parents, who were in court on Tuesday to welcome the conviction, had this to say:
“We are happy with the conviction. Now we expect the judge to sentence all of them to death,” the victim’s father told Indian media after the verdict.
“We will get complete closure only if all the accused are wiped off from the face of the earth. This is what they did to our daughter most brutally.”
We’re glad justice was served in this case. Sentencing is to begin this week and we’ll keep you updated on the latest.
SOURCE: BBC
