All 4 convicted

Are guilty on 13 counts, sentence likely today

• The crime entails a maximum of death penalty or a minimum of life term
• Law was changed since the gangrape, but only old law is applicable in this case
• Judge brings out brutality of the dastardly case and indicates maximum penalty
• Compliments police for thorough probe
• Girl’s parents happy, wants death penalty; otherwise their daughter will not get justice

Venkat Parsa

New Delhi: In the heinous gangrape and assault on the 23-year-old paramedical student in a moving bus in the capital on December 16 last year and her succumbing to injuries later on December 29, 2012, while undergoing treatment in Singapore, the four accused have been found guilty by the trial court. Arguments will be heard on Wednesday on the quantum of punishment to be handed over to the four accused – Mukesh, Vijay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Akshay Thakur – in the case that shook the conscience of the nation, as the clamour grew louder for death sentence. The murder charge, for which the four men have been convicted, entails a maximum of death penalty and life-term as the minimum punishment.

While the law was changed in the wake of the ghastly crime, it does not apply to this case, as the law is not applicable with retrospective effect. Only the old law applied to the four accused. However, since the girl died and there was attempt on the life of her male companion, it was a case of murder and attempt to murder that attracts maximum punishment of death sentence.

Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna in the Saket District Court in the Capital, in his 237-page verdict, found the four accused guilty on as many as 13 counts, including rape, kidnap and wrongful confinement, dacoity, murder, criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence. Of the six accused, Ram Singh committed suicide during the trial and the minor got away with three years in remand home verdict under the Juvenile Justice Act.

The Additional Sessions Judge brought out the brutality of the dastardly act, when he said, “The important aspect of this trial is the manner in which both iron rods and hands were used for damaging the alimentary canal and pulling it out from the body (of the girl). This act of complete destruction of the most vital parts of the body can never be termed as intending to cause bodily injuries and rather it will be an act done with intention of causing death.” Outright he rejected the defence argument that the girl had died due to delayed medical aid and infection caught in the hospital during treatment.

While the defence claimed that some of the accused were not in the moving bus in which the crime was committed, the judge said that the presence of the convicts in the bus had been established through the location of their mobile networks. The Judge complimented Delhi Police for the handling of the case, although they faced the flak soon after the occurrence of the crime.

Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna said, “The facts of the case make all accused liable for the cold-blooded murder of the defenceless prosecutrix and thus the offence under Section 302 (murder) read with Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC stands proved and the accused persons are thus convicted.” He said, “All the accused in pursuance of the conspiracy committed gangrape with the prosecutrix and thus are convicted under section 376(2)(g) (gangrape) of the IPC with the aide of Section 120B IPC.” The Additional Sessions Judge said they had conspired to gangrape her and the crime had been committed in a premeditated manner.

Parents of the Delhi girl, who slipped into eternal sleep but succeeded in waking up the nation, led the chorus demanding death to the rapists. The deceased’s father said, “They should be only given the death sentence so that it sends out a strong message to the people and nobody dares to commit such a barbaric crime in the future. If they do not get death sentence, my daughter would not get justice, and in the days to come, this crime will take dangerous form.”