Expressing anguish over slow pace of case proceedings against the convicts of brutal gang-rape of Nirbhaya, her parents said violence and crime against women continued unabated even after the enactment of the Nirbhaya Act. Speedy disposal of the case and conviction of the guilty alone would send out a strong message and instil fear of law, Nirbhaya’s parents Badrinath Singh and Asha Devi said on the sidelines of HER India Conference-2016 at Indian School of Business here on Tuesday. “It’s been about two-and-a-half years since the case is pending in the Supreme Court (after the lower courts awarded death sentence, the convicts filed an appeal in the Supreme Court). The Bench started hearing from July 18,” they said.
“We want the government to tell the nation how it would ensure safety and security of women. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s long speech on the Independence Day sadly did not have a single mention on women’s security,” Badrinath Singh lamented.
They were invited by HER India’s Rajiv Uttamchandani to the conference as a mark of respect to their determined fight to get justice for their daughter.
"They don't want another Nirbhaya"
“Their fight for justice is to ensure no other girl becomes a victim like their daughter,” Mr. Rajiv said in his opening address. The parents who work with victims of sexual violence and travel to be with them narrated their pain caused by slow pace of Nirbhaya case. “What had happened had happened. Even after about four years, the proceedings are still going on, lawyers still argue and we feel as if our daughter is raped repeatedly,” Nirbhaya’s father told The Hindu . “Every one is aware of crime in India. The Supreme Court verdict will show whether there is justice or not,” he said. Nirbhaya’s mother Asha Devi said even today there was no change in people’s attitude. “Victims are still blamed and not the offender. The offender goes to jail and then is free. Families of victims keep waiting for justice.”
