NEW DELHI: "Even after five years, her culprits are alive", Asha Devi , the mother of Delhi gang-rape victim said on the fifth anniversary of the tragic incident.Remembering the gruesome incident, which led to widespread protests across the nation, Devi stressed on the need to strengthen the law to deter the criminals from committing such heinous crimes in the future. "If justice isn't served on time, people cease to be scared of law. A strong law needs to be formulated and mindset of everyone, be it a politician or a common man, needs to be changed", she said.Five years ago, a 23-year-old physiotherapy intern was brutally raped by six men, including a juvenile, in a moving bus in south Delhi. The accused then threw the woman and her male companion out of the vehicle, to die by the roadside on the cold December night. The woman died of grave intestinal injuries on December 29, 2012, at a Singapore hospital, where she was airlifted for specialised treatment.Six men were arrested in connection with the incident, including a seventeen-year-old juvenile.In September 2013, a fast track court convicted all the five accused, including a man who died during the trial, guilty of rape and cold-blooded murder.In December 2015, the sixth convict, a juvenile, was released from the correctional facility where he had been lodged since December 2012.The convict, known to be the most brutal of the attackers, was taken to an undisclosed location post his release amid concerns that there was a threat to his life.

Source: Times of India December 16, 2017 07:41 UTC