New Delhi: The police and protesters faced off at India Gate as the youngest of the six men, convicted as a juvenile for the gangrape and murder of paramedical student Jyoti Singh, dubbed Nirbhaya, was finally released at about 5 pm on Sunday from a correction centre and put in the care of an NGO in the national capital.
Freedom for the 21-year-old, who was a juvenile when he committed the crime, came as the parents of the December 16, 2012 gangrape victim continued their protest for the second day on Sunday along with activists protesting against his release and demanding the death sentence for the youth. The police had declared Section 144 in force at India Gate, the venue of historic protests three years ago as news of the horrific rape of the 23-year-old girl shook the nation, and moved the protesters to Jantar Mantar, the usual protest venue in Delhi.
Later parents of Nirbhaya were detained by the Delhi police from near India Gate along with the hundreds of right-wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) workers from Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University at 7 pm.
ABVP Delhi state secretary Saket Bahuguna said the Delhi police had detained Nirbhaya’s parents and ABVP workers from near India Gate at around 7 pm. “For the last two hours buses carrying Nirbhaya’s parents and ABVP workers were aimlessly plying across outer Delhi. Now the buses are stopped at Mukherjee Nagar police station and all women protesters are taken out of the bus, while Nirbhaya’s parents and male protesters are still kept inside the bus,” added Mr Bahuguna. The victim’s mother claimed to have been “hurt” in the melee that preceded the detention of the protesters.
The police would no longer be guarding the gangrape convict, who has been moved to an NGO. A source said that when asked two days ago whether he would like to go to his hometown in Badaun, Uttar Pradesh, or be put in the care of an NGO, the gangrape convict had opted for the latter citing security concerns. The source said that his criminal record has been expunged and his new identity would not be revealed. He will be in the care of an NGO now.
The Juvenile Justice Board panel will monitor his movement and behaviour. Protests over his release continued all through Sunday with the victim’s parents and social activists first arriving near India Gate. They shouted slogans like “Nabalig ko phansi do (Hang the juvenile convict)... We want justice.” Then they moved to Jantar Mantar. “The irony of this country is that the gangrape convict can move freely but we are not allowed to hold a protest in the heart of the capital,” Nirbhaya’s father, Mr Badrinath Singh, said. The victim’s mother, Ms Asha Devi, said: “The police is not allowing us to move to India Gate. The right to protest is being denied to us.”
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Reacting to his release, Ms Asha Devi said: “All knew that he would be released one day or the other. This is total failure of the Central and state governments. Both should have taken adequate steps to prevent the release of this brutal killer.” Earlier, she had said, “If he (the juvenile convict) comes out, then what is the point of a court hearing or anything...”
The youth’s release became possible as the Delhi Commission for Women’s Saturday night effort to stall it failed after the Supreme Court held a post-midnight sitting and refused to stay the release. The Supreme Court posted the matter before a vacation bench that will hear it on Monday.
DCW chief Swati Maliwal also urged the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) against releasing him. Writing to Murari Prasad Singh, the principal magistrate at JJB-II, she said, “This is to bring to your kind notice that the DCW has moved a special leave petition in the Supreme Court last night challenging the imminent release of the juvenile boy in the gangrape case. The matter has been listed in Supreme Court for tomorrow and is thus sub-judice... I request you to kindly not precipitate the matter until the same is heard by Supreme Court tomorrow.”
Union minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju put the onus of the convict’s rehabilitation on the Delhi government. He said the additional solicitor-general had already put across the Central government’s view in court. He said the Juvenile Justice Amendment Act was passed in the Lok Sabha but could not get through the Rajya Sabha due to “disruption” by the Congress party.
On the other hand, women’s rights activists were divided over whether the juvenile convict in the December 16 gangrape case should have been released, with some favouring that he be given a second chance and others raising their voice for stricter punishment.
“What happened on December 16, 2012 was very unfortunate, but it is important to note that such juveniles are used by adults. I think the boy should be given another chance to live,” All India Progressive Women’s Association secretary Kavita Krishnan said. “The law should be implemented. According to the law, a boy below the age of 18 years is not sent to jail. He was kept in an observation home for three years. Even the high court said that the law should be implemented,” she added.
But Sucheta De, an AISA activist who has been leading a campaign against the youth’s release, said, “I appeal to all to consider the facts and to recognise the real issues that confront the struggles for justice in rape cases. The system has failed to deliver justice for most complainants who came forward to seek justice under the new rape laws. Yet those who rule the system, instead of implementing existing laws and ensuring justice in each case, prefer to divert attention towards yet another severe law.”
