Shock and grief in homes of convicts: Will appeal order

The villagers of Lahang Karma,where the family lives,stopped the media from entering and blamed them for the “bad name and too much publicity”.

They said Thakur’s family needed sympathy at the moment and not a barrage of questions.

After the verdict,Thakur’s wife Punita Devi and mother Malti Devi were said to have fainted several times and had to be given medical attention. Thakur’s brother Vinay Singh was the only family member who spoke to the media. “We are stunned by the verdict. We will move higher courts and approach the President if required. All is not over yet,” he said,adding that the verdict had been driven by too much media attention and public pressure post the incident.

In Delhi,the families of other accused,Vinay Sharma and Pawan Gupta,echoed Thakur’s brother,claiming that the verdict was a result of too much media glare.

Vinay’s mother Chanda Devi fainted when reporters went to her house in the Ravi Dass Camp with the news of the verdict. “You have got what you wanted. Never come back,” Chanda Devi said.

Pawan’s father Hira Lal alleged,“My son is innocent. There is no evidence against him. He was with me on the evening of December 16,when police say the crime was committed. He has been falsely implicated.”

According to neighbours,the family of Ram and Mukesh Singh had left the area soon after the incident. “Their parents came here for two-three days after the incident and left. Since then,the house has been locked,” a neighbour said.