Prominent persons from various strata of society in Mumbai on Friday welcomed the judgement of the trial court handing out capital punishment to three “repeated offenders” in the twin Shakti Mill gang-rape cases, by describing it as “landmark” and “historic” verdict.
In her reaction, National Commission for Women member Nirmala Samant Prabhawalkar said, “It’s a landmark verdict. It was a bit different from the Delhi incident as they were handed out capital punishment because of the death of the victim. Then, came the amendments and it is for the first time that accused have been convicted under the new law. Besides this, I would also like to salute the fighting spirit of the victims, who came forward and lodged the complaints”.
Talking to mediapersons outside the trial court after the verdict, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said: “We are very satisfied with the sentence. I salute the meticulous investigation carried out by both the Crime Branch officers and the local police in gathering evidence and arresting the men, who were on the run.”
In a statement issued in the night, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said: “The introduction of a stronger law to curb crimes against women has now resulted in three criminals in the Shakti Mills Compound gang-rape cases being sentenced to death, a historic decision that reaffirms the faith of the common people in the rule of law and in the belief that no criminal will escape the law of the land.”
In a statement, Home Minister RR Patil said, “With this judgement no one would dare to commit such an act in future in Maharashtra. The verdict has affirmed the trust and hope, of the citizens in the judiciary.”
Describing the verdict as an “path-breaking” one, leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra legislative Council Vinod Tawde of the BJP said, “It is a befitting lesson to the three convicts who committed such a heinous crime in heart of the city.”
Maharashtra ATS chief Himanshu Roy — who had headed probe into the twin gang rapes in his capacity as the then Mumbai Crime Branch-CID chief) — said: “We welcome the verdict as it would act as an example for all such brutal crimes. This proves that our legal structure does not and will not tolerate such crimes on women.”
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detection) Satyanarayan Chowdhary said: “A smooth coordination between local police and the Crime Branch ensured full recovery of evidences, arrest of the convicts and filing of charge-sheet within 20 days of the crime. Justice has been delivered.”