One year since hanging of Nirbhaya case convicts but fight for women's safety continues

On March 20, 2020, four were hanged to death in Tihar jail after being convicted in the Nirbhaya case.However, inspite of the attention the case gathered and promises made on providing safety to women, it is still an uphill battle.

New Delhi: The four men convicted in the gangrape and murder of a Delhi woman on December 16, 2012, were hanged in the darkness of pre-dawn on March 2020, exactly a year ago, bringing closure to a horrific chapter in India's long history of sexual assault that had seared the nation's soul.

But till date, women in our country are scared to step on to the roads late at night, face domestic violence, sexual assault and have to fight for their basic rights. The women of India are still fighting for their rights and safety and it seems, it is an unending journey.

Celebrations were held across the nation and people cheered carrying the national flag and shouting slogans of 'long live Nirbhaya' and 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' when the convicts were hanged at the gallows in Tihar Jail.

This is the first time that four men have been hanged together in Tihar Jail, South Asia's largest prison complex that houses more than 16,000 inmates.

Mukesh Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31) were executed at 5.30 am for the savage assault inside an empty moving bus on a 23-year-old physiotherapy intern who came to be known as the world over as Nirbhaya, the fearless one. One of the convicts Ram Singh allegedly ended his life in Tihar jail.

READ:So traumatizing that I couldn’t give my daughter even a spoon of water: Nirbhaya’s mother

The mercy plea filed by all the four convicts were quashed multiple times, paving the way for their execution. Arrangements were made in Tihar jail to hang the four convicts and a certified 'hangman' Pawan was chosen to hang the four convicts.

A dummy execution for the four convicts was conducted at Tihar Jail by hangman Pawan with a team of fifteen members.

AP Singh, the advocate of the convicts, said, "All the four convicts belonged to poor families and were striving hard to make their ends meet. The young convicts did not have any criminal record. What have you achieved after hanging four helpless young men? Has it curbed the crime against women? This was just done to deliver a message to society. But has it reduced crime?"

READ:8 years after Nirbhaya, Delhi reported 1,429 rape cases till Oct this year

He further added, "More than 100 countries have abolished capital punishment. Criminals who want to shed their tainted image can never do so if hanging persists in our country. The killing of five persons for one person is judicial killing. Former Presidents and senior judges never supported the hanging of convicts."

READ: Nirbhaya Case Timeline