Delhi gangrape case: Verdict a tight slap to rapists on prowl, says DCW

New Delhi: The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson Swati Jaihind welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision in the brutal December 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape case and said that the verdict is a “tight slap” to the rapists on prawl.

“The DCW welcomes the Supreme Court decision. Finally, justice was delayed but not denied. Nirbhaya’s rapists will be served death penalty now,” Ms Jaihind tweeted momemts after the top court on Friday upheld the earlier death sentence order to four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape case, which sparked outrage.

Later speaking to reporters, Ms Jaihind said that it was not the fight of Nirbhaya’s family only but of an entire nation. “Such a verdict was very much needed. It will now send a strong message that the system will not spare the people who indulge in rape crimes,” she said.

Mukesh, Pawan, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur were convicted on charges of brutally raping and assaulting the 23-year-old paramedic student inside a bus, which led to her death. The Delhi high court earlier upheld their conviction and death sentence.

“This is not just the fight of one Nirbhaya but many others in the country. The Supreme Court today, by giving death sentence to all the rapists of Nirbhaya, has in a way emboldened all the women in the country. This verdict is a tight slap to the rapists who thinks that they can get away after committing a heinous crime,” the DCW chief told reporters.

All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA), which welcomed the verdict, is against the death penalty for a number of reasons including the fact that it is often arbitrarily asked for and given.

“In the Bilkis Bano case, which was also a gangrape and murder case of several members of a Muslim family in a communal setting and was equally barbaric and brutal, the HC judgement awarded life sentence 11 accused persons. The CBI, did not press for death sentence,”  the body said.