New Delhi:
The mother of a medical student who was raped and tortured on a moving bus in Delhi in 2012 has said the women's panel's
late night plea in the Supreme Court against the release of the youngest convict in the case is "just for show" and added that the government "has failed us."
"What's the point of filing the plea so late if the hearing will take place after his release? They (women's panel) acted too late and only after we protested. It was just for show. They knew he is going to be released and had enough time to act,"
Asha Devi told NDTV.The convict, now 20, was just a few months short of 18 when he and five others attacked 23-year-old Jyoti Singh and her male friend on the night of December 16, 2012. He is
scheduled to be released around 5 pm today from a correctional home after three years. Four of the rapists have been sentenced to death and a fifth was found dead in prison.
Late last night, the Delhi Commission for Women filed a plea in the Supreme Court challenging the High Court's Friday order which refused to restrain the release of the convict. After it was reviewed post midnight, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the plea on Monday, but declined to give it an urgent hearing or stay his discharge.
Swati Maliwal, the chief of the women's panel has said consultations with legal team caused delay in filing the plea. "It's really sad if Jyoti's mother feels this was a pretense. I did everything in my capacity, from writing letters to meeting the Vice-President. The fact that the court has decided to hear us first thing on Monday is a win for us," she said.
She also said the panel hopes the government and the Delhi Police will not release the convict till the matter is sub-judice.
Yesterday, Jyoti's parents and a group of around 40 students protested outside the reform home where the juvenile convict was kept but they were asked to move out by the police. They will lead a protest at India Gate today.
Jyoti was called Nirbhaya or fearless as she battled her grievous injuries in hospital. She died 13 days after she was brutally attacked on the night of December 16, 2012.