Delhi gang-rape: Law changed but society still remains unchanged, says Nirbhaya`s father

Zee Media Bureau New Delhi: One year after his daughter became the victim of the bestiality perpetrated by six monsters in a moving bus on the sinister night of December 16, Nirbhaya`s father complained that there was no change in the mindset of the society even as the government managed to amend the rape laws. An aggrieved father who lost his daughter to an unspeakable inhuman crime said that even one year after the tragedy, it is still hard for the family to accept and that Nirbhaya is still alive in their memories. Speaking to Zee News, he said that though the grave crime triggered the amendment in rape laws, it did nothing to bring a change in the society which remains as such. "Our tears have not dried. With each passing day her memories get more intense. Someone is always crying at home," the distraught father was earlier quoted as saying by a news agency. The brutal incident that had jolted Delhi out of apathy and brought it on roads with anti-rape banners and slogans, prompted a slew of changes including the amendment in rape laws, increase in the density of PCR vans on roads, announcing of women helpline numbers, etc etc.

The government also announced a Rs 1000-crore Nirbhaya fund as a tribute to the Delhi braveheart so that all other rape victim could be supported and the much-needed infrastructural changes could be ushered in. However, as per the recent reports, the fund remains untouched as all the planning remains on the paper and it may take a lot of time before any tangible change sees the light of the day. Also, what remains largely unchained, as regretted by Nirbhaya`s father, is the society and its mindset. The entire country was shaken when Nirbhaya, a 23-year old physiotherapy trainee, succumbed to the deadly injuries perpetrated on her by six men in a moving bus. She along with her male friend, was thrown naked off the moving bus, on the road after being brutally assaulted. Charges of rape, kidnapping, murder and destruction of evidence were slapped on the six accused, however one of them being juvenile was tried by the Juvenile Justice Board and sent to an observation home for three years. Out of remaining five, Ram Singh was found dead in Tihar Jail in March. Four other accused namely Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Mukesh were given death penalty by a fast-track court on September 13.