Chhawla Rape Case: 3 Men Sentenced to Death Acquitted by Supreme Court

After the Supreme Court’s order, the mother of the deceased woman said, “We have lost."

A representational image of an anti-rape protest.

(Photo: The Quint)

Three men, who were awarded the death penalty by a Delhi court in a 2012 gangrape and murder case of a 19-year-old woman, were acquitted by the Supreme Court on Monday, 7 November.

A resident of outer Delhi's Chhawla, the woman's mutilated body was found three days after she was abducted, in a field in Rodhai village in Haryana's Rewari district.

The three men, identified as Rahul, Ravi, and Vinod, were convicted of kidnapping, gang-rape and murder by the Delhi court in February 2014.

‘We Have Lost’: Deceased Victim’s Mother

After the Supreme Court’s order, the victim's inconsolable mother said, "We have lost. I was alive and awaiting the verdict for 11 years. Now it seems I have no reason to live. I always thought that my daughter will get justice," The Indian Express reported.

The woman’s father, a security guard, was quoted as saying, “This all happened because we don’t have money. We are poor and that’s why we are suffering. The courts don’t care. We have been betrayed. I have not been able to work since the incident. I remember going with the police to see my daughter’s body. I couldn’t sleep for days. How can they be released?”

What Had Happened?

The incident took place on 14 February 2012. The woman, who hailed from Uttarakhand, used to work in Gurugram's Cyber ​​City.

The woman was on her way back from work, when three men allegedly kidnapped her in a car.

When she did not return, her parents filed a missing person's report in outer Delhi's Chhawala (Najafgarh) police station.

The police had found several injuries on the woman's body and further investigation found that apart from rape, she was attacked with car tools, glass bottles and other weapons.

While the family is devasted by the verdict, the written judgment by the apex court, stating the reasons for the acquittal, is still awaited.