Cheers at dawn outside Tihar as justice prevails after 7 years

Sakshi.Chand@timesgroup.com

New Delhi  21.03.2020

: Tihar Central Jail is usually devoid of excitement most mornings. But the facility in west Delhi was abuzz with activity before sunrise on Friday. People from all walks of life, of all ages, congregated there to witness what they called ‘a historic moment’. When the news reached the crowd that the brutal rapists of Nirbhaya were dead, everyone clapped and shouted exultantly while passing out sweets.

Slogans of “Asha Devi zindabad” rent the air, both in solidarity with the mother of Nirbhaya and in admiration for her never-say-die spirit through the seven harsh years. In the crowd were media people with their tripods and cameras, especially at Gate 3. The people started a countdown to 5.30am, the time appointed for the hanging of Mukesh Singh, Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma and Pawan Gupta. Awaiting the hour, they chanted “Bharat mata ki jai” and “Vande Mataram”, taking the event as an assertion of national good over evil. In between, one could hear “AP Singh murdabad”, the lawyer of the four death row convict being demonised for legal shenanigans that caused numerous postponements of the hanging.

At Gate 3 was nine-year-old Janisha. Her father, Simranjeet Singh, said, “I share everything with my daughter. In schools these days, children are educated about good and bad touches. I thought if I told my daughter about what was happening here today, it would make an impression on her.” Janisha had learnt enough to answer “hanging” when asked what was going on.

Full report on www.toi.in