2012 Delhi gang rape and murder
The 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder, commonly known as the Nirbhaya case, involved a rape and fatal assault that occurred on 16 December 2012 in Munirka, a neighbourhood in South Delhi. The incident took place when Jyoti Singh, a 22-year-old physiotherapy intern, was beaten, gang-raped, and tortured in a private bus in which she was travelling with her male friend, Avnindra Pratap Pandey. There were six others in the bus, including the driver, all of whom raped the woman and beat her friend. She was rushed to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi for treatment and transferred to Singapore eleven days after the assault, where she succumbed to her injuries two days later.[3][4][5] The incident generated widespread national and international coverage and was widely condemned, both in India and abroad. Subsequently, public protests against the state and central governments for failing to provide adequate security for women took place in New Delhi, where thousands of protesters clashed with security forces. Similar protests took place in major cities throughout the country. Since Indian law does not allow the press to publish a rape victim's name, the victim was widely known as Nirbhaya, meaning "fearless", and her struggle and death became a symbol of women's resistance to rape around the world.[6][7]
"Nirbhaya" redirects here. For the 2021 film, see Nirbhaya (film).2012 Delhi gang rape and murder
16 December 2012
Jyoti Singh
Awindra Pratap Pandey
- Mukesh Singh
- Vinay Sharma
- Pawan Gupta
- Akshay Thakur
- Ram Singh (died before trial)
- Mohammed Afroz
Passage of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill 2015
- Death for four adult convicts
- Mohammed Afroz sentenced to the maximum of three years in prison under Juvenile Justice laws when the crime was committed[2]
All the accused were arrested and charged with sexual assault and murder. One of the accused, Ram Singh, died in police custody from possible suicide on 11 March 2013.[8] According to some published reports and the police, Ram Singh hanged himself, but the defence lawyers and his family allege he was murdered.[9] The rest of the accused went on trial in a fast-track court; the prosecution finished presenting its evidence on 8 July 2013.[10] On 10 September 2013, the four adult defendants – Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur and Mukesh Singh (Ram Singh's brother) – were found guilty of rape and murder and three days later were sentenced to death.[11][12][13] In the death reference case and hearing appeals on 13 March 2014, Delhi High Court upheld the guilty verdict and the death sentences.[14] On 18 December 2019, the Supreme Court of India rejected the final appeals of the condemned perpetrators of the attack.[15] The four adult convicts were executed by hanging on 20 March 2020.[16][7] The juvenile Mohammed Afroz was convicted of rape and murder and given the maximum sentence of three years' imprisonment in a reform facility, as per the Juvenile Justice Act.[17]
As a result of the protests, in December 2012, a judicial committee was set up to study and take public suggestions for the best ways to amend laws to provide quicker investigation and prosecution of sex offenders. After considering about 80,000 suggestions, the committee submitted a report which indicated that failures on the part of the government and police were the root cause behind crimes against women. In 2013, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 was promulgated by President Pranab Mukherjee, several new laws were passed, and six new fast-track courts were created to hear rape cases. Critics argue that the legal system remains slow to hear and prosecute rape cases, but most agree that the case has resulted in a tremendous increase in the public discussion of crimes against women and statistics show that there has been an increase in the number of women willing to file a crime report. However, in December 2014, two years after the attack, the victim's father called the promises of reform unmet and said that he felt regret in that he had not been able to bring justice for his daughter and other women like her.[18]
A BBC documentary titled India's Daughter based on the attack was broadcast in the UK on 4 March 2015.[19] Indian-Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta's 2016 film Anatomy of Violence was also based on the incident, exploring the social conditions and lack of mental and sexual education in Indian society that made it possible.[20] The Netflix original 2019 TV series Delhi Crime is based on the Delhi Police's search for the culprits of this case.[21]
Incident[edit]
The victims, a 22-year-old woman, Jyoti Singh, and her male friend, were returning home on the night of 16 December 2012 after watching the film Life of Pi at PVR Select City Walk, Saket and then took an auto rickshaw till Munirka Bus Stand.[22] They boarded the bus at Munirka for Dwarka at about 9:30 pm (IST). There were only six others in the bus, including the driver. One of the men, identified as a minor, had called for passengers telling them that the bus was going towards their destination.[4][23] They took 10 rupees each as fare from both the victims. Her friend became suspicious when the bus deviated from its normal route and its doors were shut. When he objected, the group of six men already on board, including the driver, taunted the couple, asking what they were doing alone at such a late hour.[24]
During the argument, a scuffle ensued between her friend and the group of men. He was beaten, gagged and knocked unconscious with an iron rod. The men then dragged Jyoti to the rear of the bus, beating her with the rod and raping her while the bus driver continued to drive. A medical report later said that she suffered serious injuries to her abdomen, intestines and genitals due to the assault, and doctors said that the damage indicated that a blunt object (suspected to be the iron rod) may have been used for penetration.[22] That rod was later described by police as being a rusted, L-shaped implement of the type used as a wheel jack handle.[25][26][27]
According to police reports, Jyoti attempted to fight off her assailants, biting three of the attackers and leaving bite marks on the accused men.[28]
After the beatings and rape ended, the attackers threw both victims from the moving bus. One of the perpetrators later cleaned the vehicle to remove evidence. Police impounded it the next day.[28][29]
The partially clothed victims were found on the road by a passerby at around 11 pm. The passerby called the Delhi Police who took the couple to Safdarjung Hospital, where Jyoti was given emergency treatment and placed on mechanical ventilation.[30] She was found with injury marks, including numerous bite marks, all over her body. According to reports, one of the accused men admitted to having seen a rope-like object, assumed to be her intestines, being pulled out of the woman by the other assailants on the bus. Two blood-stained metal rods were retrieved from the bus and medical staff confirmed that "it was penetration by this that caused massive damage to her genitals, uterus and intestines".[26][27]
Jyoti Singh
10 May 1990
29 December 2012 (aged 22)
Nirbhaya, Damini
Physiotherapy student
Medical treatment and death[edit]
On 19 December 2012, Singh underwent her fifth surgery which removed most of her remaining intestine. Doctors reported that she was in "stable but critical" condition.[47] On 21 December, the government appointed a committee of doctors to ensure she received the best medical care.[48] By 25 December, she remained intubated, on life support and in critical condition. Doctors stated that she had a fever of 102 to 103 °F (39 °C) and that internal bleeding due to sepsis was somewhat controlled. It was reported that she was "stable, conscious and meaningfully communicative".[49]
At a cabinet meeting chaired by then-PM Manmohan Singh on 26 December, the decision was taken to fly her to Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore for further care. Mount Elizabeth is a multi-organ transplant specialty hospital.[50][51] Some doctors criticised the decision as political, questioning the need to transfer an intensive care unit (ICU) patient for organ transplants that were not scheduled for weeks or even months later.[52][53] Government sources indicate that the Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit, was personally behind the decision.[54] Hours earlier, Union Minister P. Chidambaram had stated that Jyoti was not in a condition to be moved.[55]
During the six-hour flight by air-ambulance to Singapore on 27 December, Jyoti suddenly went into a "near collapse", which a later report described as a cardiac arrest.[56] The doctors on the flight created an arterial line to stabilise her, but she had been without pulse and blood pressure for nearly three minutes and never regained consciousness in Singapore.[57]
On 28 December, at 11 am (IST), Jyoti's condition was extremely critical. The chief executive officer of the Mount Elizabeth Hospital said that the victim suffered brain damage, pneumonia, and abdominal infection, and that she was "fighting for her life."[56] Her condition continued to deteriorate, and she died at 4:45 am on 29 December, Singapore Standard Time (2:15 am, 29 December, IST; 8:45 pm, 28 December, UTC).[58] Her body was cremated on 30 December in Delhi under high police security. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the country's main opposition party at that time criticised the high security levels, stating that they were reminiscent of the Emergency era, during which civil liberties were suspended.[59] One of Jyoti's brothers commented that the decision to fly her out to Singapore came too late, and they had pinned high hopes for her recovery prior to her death.[31]
Arrests[edit]
A Special Investigation Team was formed to investigate the case, which was led by Pramod Kumar Kushwaha, the Deputy Commissioner of Delhi Police's Special Cell.[60]
Police found and arrested some suspects within 24 hours of the crime.[61] From recordings made by a highway CCTV, a description of the bus, a white charter bus with a name written on it, was broadcast. Other operators identified it as being contracted by a South Delhi private school. They then traced it and found its driver, Ram Singh. Police obtained sketches of the assailants with the help of the male victim, and used a mobile phone stolen from the two victims to find one of the assailants.[61]
Six men were arrested in connection with the incident. They included 30-year-old Ram Singh, the bus driver, and his 26-year-old brother, Mukesh Singh, who were both arrested in Rajasthan. Ram and Mukesh Singh lived in Ravidas camp, a slum in South Delhi.[62] 20-year-old Vinay Sharma, an assistant gym instructor, and 19-year-old Pawan Gupta, a fruit seller, were both arrested in UP and Bihar.[63] A 17-year-old juvenile named Mohammed Afroz, from Badayun, Uttar Pradesh,[64][65][66] was arrested at the Anand Vihar terminal in Delhi. The juvenile had only met the others that day.[66] 28-year-old Akshay Thakur, who had come to Delhi seeking employment, was the final suspect to be arrested in Aurangabad, Bihar; he was married with one son at the time of his arrest.[63][67][68]
According to reports, the group had been eating and drinking together and "having a party" earlier in the day.[4] Although the charter bus which Ram Singh drove on weekdays was not permitted to pick up public passengers[29] or even to operate in Delhi because of its tinted windows,[69] they decided to take it out "to have some fun".[4] A few hours before committing the gang rape, the attackers had robbed a carpenter. The carpenter was 35-year-old Ramadhir Singh (unrelated to Ram, Mukesh and Jyoti), who boarded the bus that was being driven by Mukesh Singh. The juvenile convict had lured him into the bus saying it was going to Nehru Place. He was then beaten up and robbed of his mobile phone and ₹1500 in cash. After robbing him, the group dumped him at the IIT Flyover. He reported about the group in the bus robbing him to three police constables: Kailash, Ashok and Sandeep, who were passing nearby. They refused to take any action in response, saying that the crime scene wasn't under their purview as they were from the Hauz Khas police station, and that he would have to report the incident to the station in Vasant Vihar.[24][70][71][72]
Shortly after the attacks, Pawan Gupta said he accepted his guilt and should be hanged.[73][74] Mukesh Singh, who was placed in Tihar Jail after his arrest, was assaulted by other inmates and was kept in solitary confinement for his own protection.[75]
Ram Singh was presented before the Metropolitan Magistrate on 18 December 2012.[76] He refused to participate in an identification process.[69]
Investigation revealed a history of frequent drinking that resulted in "blinding rage", "bad temper", and quarrels with employers, that had led friends to call him "mental".[77] On 11 March, Ram Singh was discovered hanging from a ventilator shaft in his cell which he shared with 3 other prisoners, at about 5:45 a.m.[78] Authorities said it was unclear whether it was a suicide or a murder.[79][80][81]
Execution of convicts[edit]
On 20 March 2020, at 5:30 a.m. IST, Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur and Pawan Gupta were executed at Tihar Jail. They were hanged on gallows specially designed for four people.[153][7][154][155][156] According to prison officials, the four convicts refused the offers of a last meal and new clothes prior to the execution. They were blindfolded and did not resist as they were led to the gallows; however, Vinay Sharma suffered a breakdown prior to his execution and began pleading with the guards.[157] The four convicts were pronounced dead after hanging for 30 minutes.[158] Mukesh Singh reportedly requested to donate his organs.[159]
Legacy[edit]
Anniversary memorials[edit]
On 16 December 2013, the first anniversary of the attack, activists held memorials throughout New Delhi in memory of the victim widely known as Nirbhaya, meaning "fearless". Members of women's organizations lit candles in her memory and protested against exploitation of women. University students and others organized a candlelight march at the bus stand in South Delhi where Nirbhaya and her friend Pandey boarded the bus in which the rape and beatings took place.[241] At a commemorative prayer meeting political leaders resolved to increase efforts to improve women's security. Speaking with the victim's mother, former chief minister Sheila Dikshit said that Delhi's society and the various authorities will work together to build a permanent legacy to her daughter: "... whatever you will want in her memory, we will try to fulfil. And we will try with a conviction that such an incident is not repeated with anybody else in the future".[242] The victim's parents spoke at a memorial saying that they were proud of the courage that their daughter showed, which they believe "has spurred more women to speak out instead of hiding the crimes committed against them".[32]
In December 2014, the second anniversary of the attack, referring to a woman who was raped in a car operated by an Uber driver, the parents remarked to the press that not much had changed: "Nothing in India has changed since 16 December 2012. All promises and statements made by our leaders and ministers have turned out to be shallow. Our suffering gives them their moment in limelight. My daughter asks me what I have done to get her justice. She asks what am I doing so that many more like her get justice and I wake up to realise how helpless and trivial I am..."[18]
"Nirbhaya Chetna Diwas", a public event organised by women's and citizens groups, candle light vigils, prayer meetings, and other events were held on 16 December 2015 at the Jantar Mantar to pay homage to Jyoti on the third anniversary of her death. In what was called "a brave homage to her daughter", Jyoti's mother, Asha Devi, said, "My daughter's name was Jyoti Singh 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'."[46]
Devi spoke out against the upcoming release of the juvenile and put forth four demands for justice: