Dehradun: Teachers, students of Nirbhaya’s institute hail SC decision

DEHRADUN: The friends and teachers of Nirbhaya, the Delhi gang rape victim, hailed the Supreme Court’s decision of sticking to its capital punishment verdict in the case. “The punishment to these men is a lesson to all those who even think of doing such heinous crimes. We stand by Nirbhaya's parents, as always, in their quest of justice,” said Harish Arora, head of the city-based institute from where the 23-year-old victim completed her paramedical course.
The institute, where Nirbhaya studied for four years, now gives scholarship in her name to girls who hail from poor socio-economic background. According to the institute officials, around 25 girls have been given scholarships since 2012. “We give scholarship of Rs 4-Rs 5 lakh to girl students from poor economic background. Every year, around 5 to 8 girls get to avail this grant. They just have to pay Rs 10,000-Rs 15,000 for the entire course,” said Arora, while adding that her friends and teachers are also content with the court’s verdict. Speaking to TOI, other teachers who taught her said she was a brilliant student and highlighted that she scored really well in her last examinations, whose results were declared after her demise. "Supreme Court upholding its verdict is a strong message to those who commit such heinous crimes. Our faith in the judiciary has been reinstated. I feel that now, those who even think of raping women will fear the consequences of committing such a crime,” said Jitendra Singha, one of the teachers of the institute.
Earlier on Tuesday, SC had issued death warrant for four convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape case. Their execution will be held on January 22 at 7 am in Tihar jail. The court said that the convicts can use their legal remedies within 14 days. The order was pronounced by Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora who issued death warrants against them. The four convicts are — Mukesh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Singh, and Pawan Gupta.