New Delhi, March 20 The hangings for which the entire nation waited with bated breath finally took place at 5.30 a.m. on Friday, as the four men convicted for the brutal gang-rape and murder of a medical student in December 2012 were hanged inside the high-security Tihar Jail here.
Sandeep Goel, Director General of Tihar Jail, confirmed that the four convicts Vinay, Akshay, Mukesh and Pawan were hanged together at 5.30 a.m. They were declared dead at 6.10 a.m.
"I am feeling satisfied as my daughter got justice today," Nirbhaya's mother Asha Devi said after the news of the executions broke out.
Following the hangings, the executioner Pawan Jallad stated, "I am feeling happy after hanging the four convicts. I had waited for this moment for a long time."
With this, justice has finally been imparted to India's daughter, Nirbhaya. Pursuant to the hangings, a crowd burst into celebrations and began cheering outside the jail premises, undeterred by the coronavirus scare.
Slogans of "Nirbhaya Zindabad" were raised alongside posters reading "Thanks to Judiciary" while some unfurled the tricolour.
"As soon as the news broke that the convicts have been hanged, we hit the roads with the tricolour to extend our tributes to Nirbhaya," Meena Sharma, a local resident, said while waving a flag.
A man named Umakant Sharma even climbed on the railing outside the jail with a poster in his hand which rued the delay in serving justice to the victim. "The motive is to highlight the loopholes in our judicial system," Sharma said.
Over the years, the convicts adopted several manoeuvres to delay the hanging and even succeeded thrice. This time, however, they could not escape the clutches of the judiciary.
"This is a big day in the history of the nation. The hangings will send a message to the world that such acts should not be committed," said social activist Yogita Bhayana, who has been associated with the case since its beginning.
( With inputs from IANS )