'It's a crime to be born a girl in this country': Father of gang-rape victim appalled after teenage attacker is jailed for just THREE YEARS
- - Jail term will include the eight months the teenager has already served
- - Family call the verdict 'a mockery of justice'
- - Protestors swarm court branding the verdict too lenient
- - Verdict prompts fresh calls for reform of sex attack laws
By SANA SHAKIL
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"It's a crime to be born a girl in this country," said the victim's angry father on Saturday after the first verdict in the December 16, 2012 gang-rape case awarded three years' punishment to the eighteen-year-old for the crime.
The verdict sparked outrage and revulsion among the public, which has branded the punishment as extremely lenient.The sentence is the toughest courts are legally allowed to issue to a juvenile in such cases. The young man, 18, was still only 17-years-old when the crime was committed.
The three years in jail include the eight months the attacker has already spent in custody. The anguished parents of the 23-year old girl said this country cannot protect its girls.
Sentenced: The eighteen-year-old rapist emerges from court after being sentenced to just 3 years by the Juvenile Justice Board
Convicted: The sentence was the toughest that can be given under law to an accused who was a juvenile at the time the crime was committed
Identity: The identity of the youngest of the six rapists was protected given his age at the time of the crime
"No one should give birth to girls as they cannot be protected here. (Is desh me koi beti paida naa kare kyunki yahaan betiyon ki surkasha nahi ki jaa sakti.) We were hoping for greater punishment but awarding three years to my daughter's rapist and killer is making a mockery of justice. We have lost the battle. I feel very unfortunate today," said the victim's emotional father, reacting to the verdict.
The dissatisfaction of the victim's family with the verdict can be gauged from the fact that the victim's younger brother even tried to attack the juvenile, who for his horrendous crime was sentenced to three years, the maximum punishment that can be handed down to a minor offender.
The disappointment of the public was also evident from the sloganeering outside the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB).
The news of the verdict was met with slogans like "We want justice" and "Hang the juvenile too. (Nabalik ko bhi phaansi do)" outside the premises by people who claimed to be members of an activist group called 16 December Kranti.
The punishment has revived the debate over the need to amend laws regarding the maximum punishment that can be awarded to juveniles in conflict with the law.
The eight months already spent by the juvenile in custody during the inquiry will be considered as a period already served and will be deducted from the three-year sentence.
Outrage: Activists shouted slogans as they demanded the death of a juvenile and called for the reform of laws for crimes against women
Protest: The news of the verdict was met with slogans like 'We want justice' and 'Hang the juvenile too' outside the premises by people who claimed to be members of an activist group called 16 December Krant
Anger: Since the horrific crime took place in December activists around the country have been up in arms about India's lack of legal protection for women against sexual attacks
Spotlight: As the young man convicted was driven away, an army of the world's media joined the crowds to cover the story
Security: Anticipating the attention of the teenager's trial, Delhi police turned the JJB into a virtual fortress
The JJB, however, acquitted the minor of the charge of attempting to murder the victim's male friend who was with her when the crime occurred and is the sole-eyewitness in the case. He had also suffered injuries during the incident and is the complainant in the case.
The JJB had on July 11 also convicted the minor, a cleaner in the bus in which the victim was raped, in another case of robbery.
According to sources, the victim's brother, who was waiting for the board's decision since the morning, moved towards the juvenile and tried to slap him as soon as the verdict was pronounced.
However, the boy was held back by those present inside the courtroom, including the prosecution, defence counsel and his parents.
The brother and mother of the victim both broke down after the verdict and said they had lost the battle.
"For the horrendous crime that he committed he deserves nothing less than the death penalty. He should be hanged here itself," the brother said in tears.
Extremely upset with the board's decision, the victim's father pressed for an amendment to the law with regard to juveniles who commit crimes against women.
He, however, said he would challenge the board's verdict in the Delhi high court.
"If this is the maximum sentence that can be given to a perpetrator of such a brutal crime, the laws should be changed.
"By these laws are they encouraging juveniles to commit such crimes?
"The board should have sentenced the juvenile keeping in mind his crime and not thinking of his age at the time of offence."
The weeping mother of the victim termed the verdict unacceptable and said: "There was no need for these proceedings if this is what they had do.
"This is equal to letting him walk free. What was the need to keep us waiting the whole day and deferring the judgment four times? We have been fooled."
Aware of the importance of the case and anticipating a huge national and international media turnout, the Delhi police turned the JJB into a virtual fortress from early Saturday morning itself.
While the number of journalists swelled outside, the atmosphere inside the premises remained tense in anticipation of the verdict and the reaction of the victim's family.
On the night of December 16 last year, the 23-year-old victim was gang-raped and brutally assaulted by six persons in a moving bus.
The victim later succumbed to her injuries in a Singapore hospital on December 29, 2012.
The four adult accused are being tried by a fast-track court in Saket here.
Another accused, Ram Singh, was found dead on March 11 in his cell in Tihar Jail and the trial against him has been abated.
Two officers held for gang-rape in Noida
A 35-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped and her male friend assaulted by five men, including two constables in provincial armed constabulary (PAC), at a house in Sector 105 on Friday night.
Both the constables and two of their accomplices have been arrested by the Noida Police and a hunt is on to arrest the fifth accused.
Two constables who were deployed as gunner and driver with a senior police officer, have been suspended for their alleged involvement in the crime.
Arrested: The Noida Police arrested the four accused, including two policemen. A hunt for the fifth accused is ongoing
Police said the victim is a resident of Delhi and had come to the Noida house to meet a friend, a property dealer, whom she got to know only 15 days ago through Internet.
They decided to meet at her friend's house in D block of Sector 105 on Friday evening. The two were inside the house when the five men barged into the house and two of them declared themselves as cops.
They held her friend captive and took turns to rape her. The victim also alleged that the five men assaulted her and snatched her debit and PAN card.
Soon after they left the house, the victim got an SMS on her mobile phone that Rs 3,000 had been withdrawn from her bank account at a petrol pump at sector 82.
She approached Sector 39 police station and lodged the complaint. Police on investigation found CCTV footage at the petrol pump and identified the accused.
Additional Director general (crime, law and order) Arun Kumar said in Lucknow: "The two PAC constables were on duty at the time of the incident and have now been suspended.
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