A day before his scheduled release, the juvenile convict in the December 16 gangrape case has been moved out of the correction home and sent to an undisclosed location on the outskirts of Delhi on Saturday afternoon with reports surfacing that some residents of his native village in Uttar Pradesh are not happy with the prospect of his return.
On Saturday, the parents of the gangrape victim, along with 40 Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University students, were detained by police after they staged a protest against release of the juvenile convict. In a relative development, the Delhi Commission for Women will file a Special leave Petition in the Supreme Court on Saturday night against the scheduled release of the juvenile convict.
The convict, who is now 20 years old, has been sent to an undisclosed location amid concerns that there was threat to his life, and several agencies are keeping an eye on the matter, said a highly-placed source.
He was moved out a day after the High Court refused to stay his release that was widely criticised by the parents of the victim and various other bodies, saying he must be kept in observation home until his reformation was ascertained.
The convict’s mother said though no family member would go to Delhi to receive him, it was her wish that he returned to the village and helped the family living in abject poverty.
She said her husband was mentally challenged and her two daughters worked as labourers to support the family, therefore she needed her son to come back.
The convict — along with five others had gangraped and murdered the 23-year-old paramedical student in a moving bus on December 16, 2012 — is likely to walk free from the undisclosed location on Sunday, in adherence to the existing legal provision, the source added.
The girl succumbed to her injuries in a Singapore hospital on December 29, 2012.
PTI reported residents of the convict’s native village in Badaun district maintained that the youth, who did such a heinous crime, had no place in the village. A senior resident Phoolchandra said the incident has brought much infamy to the village and the country in the eyes of the world.
He claimed that after the infamous episode, the village youth studying outside were also looked at contemptuously and are usually denied employment. As a result of which, employment is increasing in the village, he said. In a stark contrast, the poverty-struck family members of the youth are eagerly waiting for his return. The family members said the youth should be given a chance to repent and start a new life after returning to the village.
Haji Tauseef Raza and a few other village residents also seconded her opinion. They said the youth, having served his sentence, had learnt a big lesson and should be allowed to start afresh. Raza said people of the village would fully support him.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Government has said it had submitted a rehabilitation plan for the juvenile convict. The Government said as per the plan, a one-time financial grant of Rs 10,000 will be given to the youth and a sewing machine will be arranged for him so that he can rent a tailor shop.
Sources said the juvenile has been kept under observation of an NGO under protection of the Delhi Police. Reacting on report of parents of the gangrape victim and others being detained, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, “I am shocked to learn that Nirbhaya’s parents have been detained. They shud immediately be released. Police action against Nirbhaya’s parents is unacceptable. I have asked Chief Secretary to talk to Police Commissioner and get them released.”
When contacted, the father of the victim said they had gathered for a peaceful demonstration near the correction home in Majnu Ka Tila against the release of the juvenile convict but police detained them. “Is there no justice in this countryIJ,” a distraught father of the victim said. “Prime Minister travels the world over, but there is no law for women here. Everyone promises change but nothing has been done,” the victim’s mother said.