Death for two who killed man protesting sister’s harassment

Additional Sessions Judge Kamimi Lau said the case qualified under the ‘rarest of rare’ category because of the manner in which the murder was committed. “This court cannot ignore the loud cry for justice by society in this case involving the heinous crime of murder of a young man… only because he objected to obscene behaviour towards his sister and his grotesque killing in full public view. It will respond by imposition of proper sentence lest people lose faith in the judicial system and take law into their hands,” the court said.

Stressing on the need for ‘exhibiting zero tolerance’ to crime against women,the court said,“Women safety has to be our first priority and the need of the hour is to instill that fear of law in society. We can no longer remain a resilient society and a befitting institutionalised response by exhibiting zero tolerance to these crimes against women is the crying need of the hour,” the court said.

The court ruled that Sunil and Sudhir both be “hanged by the neck till they are dead (subject to confirmation of the Delhi High Court”. The other convicts — Surender,Raj Kumar,Suresh and Sanjay — were given life terms while the court imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh each on them.

The court noted the alarming trend of cases where those standing up to harassment against women were becoming targets of crime and went on to say that “society is in chaos and people are scared to stand up for a woman for the sheer fear of these ruffians and hooligans…”

The court also lauded the victim,who despite all threats and the “trauma of seeing her only brother dying before her own eyes only because he stood up for her” proceeded to fight for justice.