“It’s a barbaric crime and it has shaken the society’s conscience,” Justice R Banumathi said, as a three-judge Supreme Court panel threw out an appeal on behalf of the defendants. The four, gym instructor Vinay Sharma, bus cleaner Akshay Kumar Thakur, fruit-seller Pawan Gupta and unemployed Mukesh Singh, then appealed to the Supreme Court. ‘Rape epidemic’The crime sparked large-scale protests and led thousands of women across India to break their silence over sexual violence that often goes unreported. Authorities have stiffened penalties against sex crimes, introduced fast-track trials in rape cases and made stalking a crime. He vowed to file a review petition to the chief justice of the Supreme Court.

Source: Dhaka Tribune May 05, 2017 10:41 UTC