Nirbhaya's Mother Asha Devi On 'Delay Tactics': Convicts Must Be Hanged One By One

In a stinging attack against the Nirbhaya convicts, the mother of 23-year-old paramedic said that all of them should be hanged one by one. Perturbed over the constant delays and fresh appeals ahead of the execution, Asha Devi said, “their (convicts) tactic to delay hanging has been rejected. I'll be satisfied only when they're hanged on Febraury 1. Just like they're delaying it one after other, they must be hanged one by one so that they understand what it means to toy with law.” The feisty mother who has fought for justice for her daughter has repeatedly said that execution of rapists is the only way of getting closure.

Earlier on Saturday, Nirbhaya’s mother had slammed senior advocate Indira Jaising saying that just because of people like her, justice is not done with rape victims. The hard-hitting statement from Asha Devi came after Indira Jaising urged her to pardon four convicts for the 2012 gangrape of her daughter.

Reacting to Indira Jaising’s suggestion, Asha Devi said, “Who is Indira Jaising to give me such a suggestion. Whole country wants the convicts to be executed. Just because of people like her, justice is not done with rape victims.”

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She further said, “Can’t believe how Indira Jaising even dared to suggest such this. I met her many times over the years in the Supreme Court. Not once she asked for my wellbeing and today she is speaking for convicts. Such people earn livelihood by supporting rapists.”

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court Monday rejected the plea of a death row convict in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case challenging the Delhi High Court order, which had dismissed his claim of being a juvenile at the time of the offence. A bench comprising Justices R Banumathi, Ashok Bushan, and AS Bopanna dismissed the plea of convict Pawan Kumar Gupta and upheld the Delhi High Court verdict. The death-row convict in the Nirbhaya case had moved the top court on Friday.

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Pawan Gupta had also sought a direction restraining the authorities from executing the death penalty, scheduled for February 1.

The bench said the claim of being a juvenile was not taken initially during trial in the Nirbhaya case. However, Gupta’s lawyer contended that it was taken as a ‘mitigating circumstance’ at the time of sentencing in the case.

A 23-year-old physiotherapy intern was gang-raped and savagely assaulted on the night of December 16, 2012, in a moving bus in South Delhi. She died of her injuries a fortnight later in a Singapore hospital. Six people—Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Kumar Singh, Pawan Gupta, Ram Singh and a juvenile—were named as accused.

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