Damini verdict Delhi gangrape: All four convicts will Hang

Delhi gang-rape convicts get death

Damini rape case accused | Delhi Gangrape | Accused hang till death |  Nirbhaya gang rape convict | Delhi gang rape Damini Nirbhaya |  December 16 Delhi gangrape case |

All four men convicted of raping and murdering a 23-year-old woman in Delhi were sentenced to death on Friday, nine months after a crime whose savagery triggered furious protests across India and rare national debate about violence against women.

"Everybody got the death penalty," defence lawyer A.P. Singh told reporters outside the Delhi courtroom, where dozens of police had formed a barricade to keep crowds back.

One of the four men sentenced to death by hanging, gym instructor Vinay Sharma, was dragged out of the court crying.

The victim, who was raped for an hour and tortured with an iron rod on a moving bus, became a symbol of the dangers women face in a country where a rape is reported on average every 21 minutes and acid attacks and cases of molestation are common.

The special court that convicted the four accused in December 16 Delhi gangrape case  has reserved its order on the quantum of punishment for Friday.

In the course of arguments spread over nearly three hours on Wednesday, the prosecutor demanded the death penalty in order to assuage "society's conscience", while the counsel for defence sought mercy on grounds of the young age and extreme poverty of the convicts.

Delhi gangrape: All accused held guilty of rape, murder

"Society today feels that no woman in this country is safe... Now it is up to the court to decide and change this," special prosecutor Dayan Krishnan said in conclusion to his arguments.

Advocate V K Anand, counsel for Mukesh Singh, the younger brother of alleged ringleader Ram Singh who was found dead in his Tihar cell in March, invoked the tragedy of the men's mother.

"Main iski ma ki taraf se aapse daya ki bheekh mangta hoon," Anand said. "His mother has already lost a son. Like the victim's mother, she too is asking for justice." Besides, Anand argued, "Mukesh was driving the bus, how could he know what was happening?"