Pawan Kuma Gupta, Mukesh, Vinay and Akshay, were hanged at 5.30 am IST on Friday, 20 March, seven years after the brutal rape and murder of the young woman, dubbed Nirbhaya.
- Four convicts in Nirbhaya rape and murder case have been hanged.
- The incident took place seven years ago in the Indian capital Delhi.
- The historical case sparked fierce protests that forced the government to change the laws.
The Indian Supreme Court earlier dismissed Pawan Gupta’s appeal to stay the execution in the absence of any grounds for review.
The final plea by Pawan Gupta was based mainly on the claims that his second mercy plea to the president of India was wrongly dismissed.
A combo photograph shows four men convicted of gang rape and murder (L-R): Vinay Sharma, Akshay Kumar Singh, Pawan Gupta and Mukesh Kumar. Source: EPA/STR
Nirbhaya’s mother Asha Devi thanked all the women after Pawan Gupta’s plea was dismissed by the Supreme court.
“I would like to thank all the people of the society, especially our daughters and women,” she told Indian journalists.
Earlier, the convicts were taken for the final medical check-up before the execution.
“The medical of all four death row convicts is completed, all are fit and fine. Jail to be under lock-down till the process of hanging is completed,” Tihar jail officials told ANI.
'Nirbhaya' a seven-year-old rape and murder case
The infamous Nirbhaya rape and murder case made headlines across the world in 2012. The 23-year-old paramedic student was raped and beaten in a moving bus by six people in front of her friend on 16 December 2012.
The girl suffered multiple injuries and was taken to Singapore for the treatment. However, all attempts to save her failed, and she died in a hospital in Singapore on 29 December.
Asha Devi, mother of the victim of the fatal 2012 gang rape on a moving bus, displays a victory sign after the rapists of her daughter were hanged in New Delhi. Source: AP Photo/Altaf Qadri
The incident sparked widespread national and international protests resulting in changes of laws by the government of India.
Delhi police arrested six suspects and filed a case against them. One of them, Ram Singh, committed suicide in jail while another one was freed after three years in a juvenile centre as he was not adult when the crime was committed.
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On 10 September 2013, a fast track court of Delhi found four adult defendants guilty of raping and murdering the girl.
After all their appeals and mercy pleas were dismissed, the convicts were hanged on 20 March 2020.
