Keeping Nirbhaya in thoughts, mother names her in public

As the date of the release of the juvenile convict in the December 16 gangrape case nears, the eyes are set on the Delhi High Court's order on whether his stay in the home shelter would be extended further.

Paying tribute to the brave daughter three years after the gruesome rape that led to her death, Nirbhaya's mother took her name in public and said people who commit heinous crimes like rape should hang their heads in shame and not the victims or their families.

The 23-year-old paramedical student was brutally assaulted and gangraped on the ill-fated night of December 16 three years ago that led to her death 13 days later. The victim's mother Asha Devi, in a display of extraordinary courage, took her daughter's name in public. "My daughter's name was Jyoti and I am not ashamed to name her. Those who commit heinous crimes like rape, their heads should hang in shame, not the victims or their families. You should take her name too," she said at 'Nirbhaya Chetna Diwas', a public event organised by women's and citizens groups at the Jantar Mantar to mark the anniversary.

The parents of the girl, Asha Devi and Badrinath Singh Pandey also demanded that juvenile convict, allegedly the most brutal of the six offenders should not be released citing him as a threat to the city.

"On the third death anniversary, we are seeing the release of the juvenile convict. Where is justice in that? I do not know whether he is 16 or 18. I only know that he has committed a brutal crime and there should be no age limit for punishment," Asha said.

On the public platform she placed four demands that the five accused, including the juvenile convict, should be setenced to death, speedy trial of the victims of sexual offences in the fasttrack courts, amendments in the Juveniles Justice Act should be passed and Nirbhaya fund should be utilised for setting up the high quality forensic labs in all states.

Celebrities like Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Delhi Congress spokesperson Sharmistha Mukherjee, and various women's groups had gathered at the Jantar Mantar to pay homage to the girl and agreed that it was the certainty of justice which can bring about a change. The Jantar Mantar area had virtually turned into a public memorial for her after the incident. On Wednesday too, candle light vigils, prayer meetings were held to mark three years of the heinous act.

DCW chief seeks Nirbhaya Fund

With Delhi government's plan of installing CCTV cameras in Delhi not taking off anytime soon, Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson Swati Maliwal has sought to utlise Nirbhaya Fund for the purpose.

In a letter to Union Minister Maneka Gandhi, Maliwal said, "The commission is receiving many complaints from victims of sexual crimes against inaction by police officials."

Maliwal further expressed shock on having learnt that the Women and Child Development Ministry denied Nirbhaya Fund to a proposal to install CCTVs in DTC buses. "Since Nirbhaya incident occurred in a bus, it seems but obvious that buses need to be made safer for women in the Capital.

However, it is shocking that the ministry has been rejecting this proposal since June 5, 2015 stating that the proposal is not 'gender sensitive'.

Even the Special Task Force on Women's Safety, recognised the importance of the proposal for installation of CCTV cameras in DTC busses and forwarded the request again to the WCD Ministry, which again recently rejected the proposal on minor procedural grounds," she claimed.

All eyes on Delhi HC order

As the date of the release of the juvenile convict in the December 16 gangrape case nears, the eyes are set on the Delhi High Court's order on whether his stay in the home shelter would be extended further. The juvenile convict is due to release on December 20.

A plea was filed by Subramanian Swamy in the Delhi High Court seeking a stay on the juvenile's release till it is demonstrably assured that he has reformed and was not a menace to society.

Along with Swamy, the Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain and central government's standing counsel Jasmeet Singh told the bench that while there was no opposition to extension of the juvenile's stay at the observation home.

During the hearing, Jain told the bench the post-key information about the juvenile is missing from the post-rehabilitation plan and till the time all these aspects are taken into account, his stay in the home shelter should be extended.

The court was further told that important aspect such as status of his mental health, whether the juvenile wants to continue in the social mainstream, the follow up action in the Juvenile Justice Board's Management Commitee's (MC) report have been missing.

The court, thereafter, said it will go through the Management Commitee's plan and the Intelligence Bureau's report, which was placed before it in a sealed cover and it reserved the order.