Says the incident has brought infamy to village; has been sent to undisclosed location before release
Badaun: Even as the juvenile convict in the December 16, 2012 gangrape case is set to walk free today after serving three years in a correction home, some residents of his native village here are not happy with the prospect of his return.
The Delhi rape victim’s mother Asha Singh expresses her disappointment after the Delhi High Court refused to stay the release of the juvenile convict in the Nirbhaya gang rape case, in New Delhi on Friday. Pic/PTI
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The youth, now 20-years-old, was convicted of brutally assaulting and raping a 23-year-old medical student in a moving bus in Delhi on December 16, 2012, along with five others. The girl succumbed to her injuries in a Singapore hospital on December 29, 2012.
Residents of the convict’s native village in Badaun district maintained that the youth, behind such a heinous crime, had no place in the village. A senior resident, Phoolchandra, said that the incident has brought much infamy to the village and the country in the eyes of the world.
He claimed that after the episode, the village youth studying outside were also looked at contemptuously and are usually denied employment. In a stark contrast, the poverty-struck family members of the youth are eagerly awaiting his return.
The family members said that the youth should be given a chance to repent and start a new life after returning to the village. The convict’s mother said that though no family member would go to Delhi to receive him, it was her wish that he returned to the village and helped the family living in abject poverty.
She said that her husband was mentally challenged and her two daughters worked as labourers to support the family, therefore, she needed her son to return. Haji Tauseef Raza and few other village residents also seconded her opinion.
They said that the youth, having served his sentence, had learnt a lesson and should be allowed to start afresh. Raza said people of the village would fully support him. The Delhi High Court had on Friday refused to stay the release of the convict, stating he could not be stopped from walking free under the existing provisions of law.
Meanwhile, the youth’s release was widely criticised by the parents of the victim and various other bodies, saying he must be kept in the observation home until his reformation was ascertained. A day before his scheduled release, the juvenile convict was moved out of the correction home and sent to an undisclosed location, amid concerns that there was a threat to his life.
Several agencies are keeping an eye on the matter, said a highly-placed source. The government said that as per a rehabilitation plan, a one-time financial grant of Rs 10,000 will be given to him and a sewing machine will be arranged for him so that he can rent a tailor shop.
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