Indignation in India over Release of Delhi Rapist

Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson Swati Maliwal has urged the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) against going ahead on the release of the juvenile convict who was taken to an undisclosed location yesterday, a day before he was to be released. Nirbhaya’s parents took part in it even as several protesters demanded that the juvenile should be hanged instead of being released.

The rapist, who can not be named as he was a minor at the time of the crime, was sentenced to a maximum three years in a reform facility in August 2013.

The rape, which ultimately resulted in the death of the woman made worldwide deadlines and caused global outrage. India’s Parliament is in the process of considering a bill that would allow juveniles to be tried as adults for crimes such as gang rape and murder.

He has been handed over to a charity, where he will remain because of fears over his safety. Four accused in the case have been given death sentence whereas one was found dead inside the jail. The protesting people were seen raising slogans against the release of the juvenile.

A wave of public protests fuelled by the fatal Delhi gang rape jolted many in the world’s second-most populous country out of apathy and forced the government to enact stiffer penalties on gender crimes.

His criminal record has been obliterated as per legal provisions and his identity shall not be revealed.

“We agree it is a serious issue”.

The brutality of the December 2012 attack in the heart of New Delhi shocked this country of 1.2 billion, where sexual violence is rampant.

The Special Leave Petition filed by DCW against the order of the Delhi High Court, which refused to restrain the release of the convict, was referred by the Chief Justice of India T S Thakur before the vacation bench.

“In light of the above, I request you to kindly not precipitate the matter until the same is heard by the Hon’ble Supreme Court tomorrow (Monday)”. “I feel that in the past three years we have struggled hard for justice and today we have failed because he will be released”, she told Reuters in New Delhi.

A lawyer representing DCW, Rajesh Inamdar, said they wanted the court to set up a committee to examine whether the convict was a threat to society or not.