Investigating officers of the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case on Friday, 20 March, called the hanging of the four convicts a ''real tribute'' to the 23-year-old physiotherapy intern who was savagely brutalised in an empty moving bus in a South Delhi neighbourhood.
Pramod Singh Kushwaha, then the additional DCP (South) and who headed the investigation team, said each and every member of the team pitched in to prepare a watertight case against the convicts.
“The hanging is a tribute to the departed soul. They will also act as a deterrent to other rapists,” Kushwaha, now the DCP of the special cell, told PTI.
Inspector Anil Sharma, who was the SHO of Vasant Vihar police station and investigated the case, said, "It is a tribute to Nirbhaya. We stood with her family during court hearings and will be there for them."
The four convicts were hanged in Tihar Jail at 5.30 am on Friday.
On 12 December 2012, the men, one of whom was a juvenile at the time, raped Nirbhaya and dumped her on the road and left for dead on the cold winter night. Her friend who was with her was also severely beaten and thrown out along with her.
She was so severely violated that her insides were spilling out when she was taken to hospital. She died in a Singapore hospital after battling for her life for a fortnight.
Six people, including the four convicts and the juvenile, were named as accused.
While Ram Singh allegedly killed himself in the Tihar Jail days after the trial began in the case, the juvenile was released in 2015 after spending three years in a correctional home.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)