India hanged four men on Friday who were convicted for the rape and murder of a young woman on a bus in New Delhi in 2012, in a case that shocked the world and shamed the country over its appalling record for crimes against women.
The men were executed at dawn in Tihar jail, on the outskirts of the capital, four television news channels reported.
Hundreds of police men were deployed outside the jail premises to control the jubilant crowd that waited with placards to celebrate the execution of the men for the attack that shone a spotlight on women's safety across India.
The crime, which happened on the night of 16 December, 2012, sparked massive protests and global outrage. The victim was dubbed Nirbhaya - the fearless one - by the Indian press, as she could not be named under Indian law.
Six men were arrested for the attack. One suspect, Ram Singh, was found dead in his jail cell in March 2013, having apparently taken his own life.
Another, who was aged 17 at the time, was released in 2015 after serving three years in a reform facility - the maximum term possible for a juvenile in India.
The four - gym instructor Vinay Sharma, bus cleaner Akshay Thakur, fruit-seller Pawan Gupta and unemployed Mukesh Singh were sentenced to death by a fast-track court in 2013.
In 2017, the Supreme Court upheld death sentences against four men, with judges ruling the crime met the "rarest of the rare" standard required to justify capital punishment in India.
India's president rejected pleas for clemency from the condemned men, after the Supreme Court dismissed their pleas for a review of the death sentences.
Attacked on a moving bus and left for dead on roadside, the victim, a 23-year-old physiotherapy student, clung to life for two weeks before succumbing to her injuries. She died in a hospital in Singapore, where she had been transferred in a desperate attempt to save her.
Outrage over her death led to India passing tough new laws against sexual violence, including the death penalty for rape in some cases.
Reuters
Fri Mar 20 2020
An Indian protester stands with a placard during a protest against two recently reported rape cases as they gather near the Indian parliament in New Delhi, India, April 15, 2018. (AP Photo/File)
Kagame, menang 99.5 peratus pilihan raya Rwanda
Paul Kagame meneruskan khidmatnya buat penggal keempat berturut-turut sebagai Presiden Rwanda, selepas memenangi 99.15 peratus undi dalam pilihan raya negara itu.
Polis kerah lebih 300 anggota kawal perlawanan Piala FA
Seramai 351 anggota polis ditugaskan bagi mengawal perlawanan separuh akhir Piala FA antara Terengganu FC (TFC) dengan Selangor FC di Stadium Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin (SSMZA) Jumaat ini.
Dua warga AS antara yang ditemui maut di bilik hotel di Thailand
Jabatan Negara Amerika Syarikat ambil maklum mengenai laporan mengenai dua warganegaranya yang ditemui mati di sebuah hotel di Thailand.
EU tolak label UNRWA sebagai organisasi pengganas
Ketua Dasar Luar Kesatuan Eropah (EU), Josep Borrell mengulangi penolakan blok itu melabel Agensi Bantuan dan Kerja Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu untuk Pelarian Palestin (UNRWA) sebagai organisasi pengganas.
Mengimbau sedekad tragedi MH17
Pesawat MH17 Malaysia Airlines ditembak jatuh di timur Ukraine sejurus berlepas dari Lapangan Terbang Schiphol di Amsterdam, mengorbankan kesemua 283 penumpang dan 15 anak kapal di dalamnya.
Tragedi yang berlaku pada 17 Julai 2014 itu, kini memasuki tahun ke-10 kejadiannya.
Tragedi yang berlaku pada 17 Julai 2014 itu, kini memasuki tahun ke-10 kejadiannya.
Kerajaan teliti kaedah baharu lantikan tetap, pastikan kewangan negara lebih mampan
Kerajaan sedang meneliti kaedah baharu lantikan tetap bagi memastikan pengurusan kewangan negara yang lebih mampan.
PDRM gerak unit skuba forensik, K9 cari telefon, rantai Nur Farah Kartini hari ini
Proses mencari bahan bukti akan dimulakan sekitar jam 9 pagi di kawasan parit berhampiran ladang kelapa sawit berkenaan.
Bangkai pesawat MH17 tanpa sayap imbau kekejaman tragedi menyayat hati
Keadaan serpihan pesawat MH17 Malaysia Airlines (MAS) yang cuba dibina semula tanpa sayap, tayar, ekor dan tempat duduk penumpang cukup menggerunkan sekali gus mengingatkan pada kekejaman yang meragut
VOP akan diselesaikan dalam tempoh sebulan - Ahmad
Pelaksanaan Syarat Perubahan Harga (VOP) susulan penyasaran subsidi diesel dijangka diselesaikan dalam tempoh sebulan lagi, kata Timbalan Menteri Kerja Raya Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.
Industri minyak sawit disaran guna semula sisa untuk bahan api penerbangan mampan - Liew
Industri minyak sawit perlu mengkaji penggunaan semula sisa sebagai stok suapan penting untuk bahan api penerbangan mampan (SAF), di luar penggunaan tradisional minyak sawit.