Ravi Dass camp, a slum cluster on the side of the road at R.K. Puram Sector-3, was suddenly thrust in the limelight in December 2012 after it was revealed that four of the six convicts in the Nirbhaya case were residents of this colony.
Soon after the Supreme Court upheld the death penalties awarded to the convicts, Vinay Sharma and Pawan Gupta’s homes wore a deserted look on Friday.
Vinay’s sister and his brother-in-law were glued to the television. After the verdict was pronounced and activists, the parents of the victim and sympathisers across the country broke into celebrations, Vinay’s family hoped against hope that what they had heard on television was untrue.
After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, his sister said: “They could have kept him in jail for life...”
His brother-in-law added, “I don’t know what to say. We considered him dead the day he committed the heinous crime. But how can we feel happy over his death verdict as family?”
Vinay, who was a gym assistant before he was arrested, had pleaded not guilty in the case and said that the other convicts had implicated him. He had said that he was at a musical event with his family on the night of the incident.
‘No sympathy’
Locals maintained that they had no sympathy for the families of the convicts. The families of these men have for the past four years been living in exile-like conditions. Apart from a few families, the entire colony has ostracised them.
“Why are you here? You want to make a show of our lives? You have killed my brother,” said Vinay’s brother before slamming the door.
Not far from his house is Pawan’s shanty. His relatives remained inside since Thursday evening.
His cousin stepped outside on Friday: “Please leave us alone. We don’t justify the crime but this is a difficult time for us.”
Some neighbours came to pacify the family, but didn’t stay long.
Ravish Kumar, a resident of the colony, said Mukesh and Ram Singh’s house has been locked for the past few days.
“The family would keep coming and going to their village. I don’t know if the verdict was right or wrong, but for my sister, wife or daughter to go out without worrying for their safety such examples need to be set,” he said.
