India Executes 4 Men Convicted In High-Profile 2012 Delhi Gang Rape
The executions close the case that got international attention for exposing the scope of sexual violence against women in India and prompting demands for justice.
The victim, a 23-year-old physiotherapy student, was heading home with a male friend from a movie theater when six men tricked them onto a private bus. With no one else in sight, they beat her friend and repeatedly raped the woman. They penetrated her with a metal rod, causing fatal internal injuries. They dumped both victims on the roadside, and the woman died two weeks later.
The case drew international attention and prompted Indian lawmakers to stiffen penalties for rape, part of a wave of changes as India confronted its appalling treatment of women.
Facing public protests and political pressure after the attack, the government reformed some of India’s antiquated laws on sexual violence and created fast-track courts for handling rape trials that formerly could last more than a decade.
Asha Devi, the mother of the victim, thanked the judiciary and government after the convicts were hanged.
“Today, we got justice and this day is dedicated to the daughters of the country,” she told reporters. “I could not protect her but I was able to fight for her.”
Devi said she hoped that courts in India will end delays in rape cases and punish convicts within a year’s time.
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