Defence lawyers heckled near court

As soon as the defence counsels stepped out of the complex,they were heckled and even abused by the protesters. Amidst the chaos,a group of women marched towards the lawyers with slippers in their hands,labelling them as “rapists”.

As defence counsel Geeta Singh Chauhan,defending gangrape accused Vinay and Akshay,tried to sneak out,she was pulled by one woman in the crowd and verbally abused. “These women were shouting slogans against us… calling us names. We,however,chose to ignore them but when they tried to physically assault us,I made a PCR call. They threatened to throw slippers at us. They also offered us money and questioned our character,” she said.

Chauhan filed a written complaint against the protesters at the Saket police station.

Speaking to Newsline,defence counsel A P Singh said,“The protesters ridiculed us,called us names and abused us for defending the accused. They should understand that it is our job and we are just being professional. There is nothing personal. Even an accused has a right to a fair trial.”

One of the protesters at the spot said,“These lawyers defending the accused in the case are just hungry for money and publicity. How can their conscience allow them to defend such ‘beasts’. Even they are aware how barbaric the crime was,still they agreed to defend them. And now,after the accused have been pronounced guilty,they are asking the judge to show leniency in sentencing. This is inhuman.”