Shortly after the court pronounced its verdict declaring all the four accused in the December 16 gangrape case guilty, her family members expressed satisfaction with the outcome. Now, all they want is the death penalty for the four men.
The girl’s parents and brother were inside the courtroom when additional sessions judge Yogesh Khanna, presiding the special fast track court, pronounced his order inside a packed courtroom. The trio sat in the third row from the front, just a few metres away from the four men who had brutally assaulted the 23-year-old victim inside a moving bus. Also present inside the courtroom were the parents of one of the accused, Mukesh.
Standing in a corner, they broke down in tears as soon as the session court judge uttered “convicted” for the accused in the historic case. The victim’s parents and brother were escorted out through a back door by police personnel soon after the verdict was pronounced, perhaps to protect them from the media frenzy. Her mother later said that the family had been waiting for months for this verdict.
She said though the accused have been deemed guilty, the family is still wondering what the quantum of punishment will be. The quantum of punishment is to be announced on Wednesday. “We have spent the last few months thinking about the case. What will happen in the case? When the verdict in the juvenile’s case came, we were shattered as the ruling was not in our favour,” said the mother.
On the other hand, Mukesh’s mother, a frail looking woman clad in a pink and peach coloured saree, who had been standing with her husband, ran out in tears. She fell at the feet of advocate V.K. Anand and could be seen crying for his help. “I have already lost my son, Ram Singh, during the trial. Kindly beg for mercy for my second child Mukesh. He has spoken the truth before the judge and the law should take this under consideration,” said his mother.
It’s been hard for us since the incident took place. We have been crying everyday,” said Mukesh’s mother.
The Saket court complex, where the fast track court is located, was swarming with scores of journalists from the national and international press on Tuesday as they waited for the judge to pronounce his order. Many mediapersonnel were not allowed to enter the courtroom as their name was not in the list of reporters provided by the high court to cover the matter. This even led to a scuffle between some mediapersons and security guards outside the courtroom.