"I hugged my daughter's photo and said, ‘Today you got justice’.”
These were the words of Asha Devi, Nirbhaya’s mother who had struggled to get punishment for the four men (out of a total six – one juvenile has served his time, and another killed himself in jail) who brutally gang raped and tortured her 23-year-old daughter on 16 December 2012 in a moving bus.
Soon after the execution of the four convicts, who were hanged at Delhi's Tihar Jail today at 5:30 am on Friday, 20 March, Nirbhaya’s mother Asha Devi said that justice was delayed, but not denied, and added that she and her husband would continue their fight for justice for India's daughters.
“We will request the Supreme Court to issue guidelines so that no one can adopt delaying tactics in such cases in the future.”
Asha Devi told reporters that it was a “struggle of seven years and I thank every citizen of the country as well as the government.”
She also said that women will definitely feel safer after this execution.
Nirbhaya’s father said, “Our wait for justice was painful and agonising. We appeal to all to observe this day as Nirbhaya ‘Nyay Diwas’ (day of justice).”
Mukesh Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31) were executed at 5:30 am for their savage assault.
Nirbhaya’s teary eyed mother stated, “Our daughter is no more and won't return. We started this fight after she left us, this struggle was for her, but we will continue this fight in the future for our daughters.”
Asha Devi said that the world today knows her as Nirbhaya's mother. She is known because of her and she regrets that she couldn't save her. “If something like this ever happens to anyone’s family, support your daughters and ensure that the culprits are punished,” she said.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)
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