Four men are executed over the 2012 gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student in Delhi that shocked the world
- Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Mukesh Singh were all executed
- The four were hanged in the high-security Tihar prison in India’s capital on Friday
- Their deaths mark the first executions in the country since 2015
Four men have been executed after being convicted of the gang rape and murder of a student in 2012.
Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Mukesh Singh were all hanged in the high-security Tihar prison in Delhi, India, on Friday.
Their deaths mark the first executions in the country since 2015.
The four were originally sentenced to death by a trial court in 2013 after a 23-year-old physiotherapy student was raped by six men on a moving bus.
Akshay Thakur (top left), Vinay Sharma (top right), Pawan Gupta (bottom left) and Mukesh Singh (bottom right) were all hanged in the high-security Tihar prison in Delhi, India, on Friday for the gang rape and murder of a student
The victim could not be named under Indian law but was dubbed Nirbhaya – the fearless one – by the press.
She died as a result of her injuries a few days after the attack and six people were arrested for her murder.
These included Ram Singh, who was found dead in jail in March 2013, in an apparent suicide.
Another, who was just 17 at the time of the attack, was released in 2015 after serving three years in a reform facility, which is the maximum term possible for a juvenile in India.
All four of those who were executed had recently filed petitions appealing for their sentences to be reduced to life imprisonment.
But these were rejected by the Supreme Court.
The four were originally sentenced to death by a trial court in 2013 after a 23-year-old physiotherapy student was raped by six men on a moving bus. Pictured: Police investigating in 2013
The incident caused outrage across the country and led to new anti-rape laws being implemented in India.
Police and paramilitary personnel were deployed to maintain security outside the prison while the executions took place as groups with placards gathered by the gates.
Speaking just minutes after the executions, the victim’s mother said: ‘I hugged my daughter’s photograph and told her we finally got justice.’
Her father added that his ‘faith in the judiciary had been restored’.