Asha Devi Said that She Hugged Her Daughter’s Photo after the Rapists Were Hanged

Asha Devi the mother of Nirbhaya feels that she’s finally got justice after her daughter’s rapists were hung at 5:30 am today at the Tihar jail. The wait was long and painful but we finally got it, she said. 

Seven years ago on 16 December, the 23-year-old physiotherapy intern was beaten, tortured and gang-raped brutally in a moving bus in Munirka a neighbourhood in South Delhi. 

Asha Devi told reporters, “We will continue our fight for justice for India's daughters. Our wait for justice was painful and agonizing. We finally got justice.” 

“I hugged my daughter's photo,” Asha Devi said. “The beasts have been hanged.”

The four convicts- Akshay Thakur, 31, Pawan Gupta, 25, Vinay Sharma, 26, and Mukesh Singh, 32, spent the last few hours in isolation before they were finally hanged. 

Just two hours before the hanging, the court had dismissed the final petition of the convicts thus bringing final closure to the brutal case. Prior to the hanging several petitions were filed repeatedly to stall their execution. 

According to a report in ANI, convicts Mukesh and Vinay had dinner whereas Akshay only had tea. All the convicts were quiet however Vinay cried a bit. 

Even the other prisoners were awake all night. A mandatory lockdown was imposed in Tihar jail during the execution. Nirbhaya’s rapists stepped out of their cells at 3:30 am. 

The four convicts were hung simultaneously at 5:30 am. Their bodies were left hanging for about 30 minutes after which they were sent for post-mortem examinations to Delhi’s Deen Dayal taken to Deen Dayal Upadhaya Hospital. 

This is what Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: 

Asha Devi said, “We all have waited so long for this day. Today's dawn will be a new dawn as my daughter will get justice. It will also be a new dawn for daughters of India.” She added, “My daughter's soul will be at peace.”