Nirbhaya's brother is a pilot today. 'Thank you, Rahul Gandhi,' says mother

NEW DELHI: Brother of Nirbhaya – December 2012 gang-rape victim – is a pilot today. All thanks to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

"The tragedy hurt my son but could not stop him. Now he is a pilot because of Rahul Gandhi," said Nirbhaya's mother Asha Devi.

Nirbhaya's brother is currently training with a commercial airline in Gurugram and will soon fly a plane.

The Congress leader taught us never to quit approach, said Asha Devi.

After the December 2012 incident, Nirbhaya's brother was in complete shock. 

"Rahul Gandhi was the one who counselled him and motivated him to achieve something good in life to support the family. Rahul asked him to pursue a pilot's training course after completion of school," Asha Devi said.

In 2013, he took admission at Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi in Rae Bareli.

"When he was studying, Rahul used to talk to him over the phone and during his 18-month pilot's training course, taught him to adopt a 'never quit' attitude," she told India Today.

Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra also calls the family often to inquire about their health, added Asha Devi.

On Tuesday, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) issued a notice to Tihar Jail Administration and Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) South District, questioning the delay in execution of death penalty to rapists of 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape case.

The Supreme Court on May 5 upheld the death penalty awarded to all four convicts in Nirbhaya gang-rape case by the High Court. 

On December 16, 2012, six people, including a juvenile, brutally assaulted and raped 23-year-old paramedic in a moving bus in South Delhi. The victim and her male friend were later thrown out of the bus. On December 29, 2012, the victim succumbed to the extensive injuries in a Singapore hospital. The incident triggered nation-wide protests.

The four convicts - Mukesh, Pawan, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Kumar Singh - were awarded death sentence. The fifth accused, Ram Singh, committed suicide in jail.

The sixth accused, a juvenile, has been released after completing mandatory probation period in a remand home.