Twitteratis compare Bilkis Bano with Nirbhaya, seek justice

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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday decided the fate of four rapists and delivered a historic judgment in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case by awarding death sentence to all the convicts.

Social media sites reacted to the dramatic capping of events stretching for nearly five years that saw, by turns, an outraged nation spilling on to the streets, a riveting legal battle which brought the spotlight on capital punishment, and eventually a significant verdict by the apex court.

“Finally! Justice for #Nirbhaya,” tweeted a user of a popular Twitter handle, using the words that had become a rallying cry during the tumultuous protests after the incident.

The user also posted a picture of the victim’s mother paying tribute to her daughter at a memorial, with a caption that read — “After 4 years, 4 months, 18 days, many protests tears, pain & struggle, the soul of the daughter of India & sister of Indians will rest in peace.”

The judgment came only a day after the Bombay High Court had rejected the death plea to the convicts in Bilkis Bano’s gangrape case.

A section of people on social media compares Jyoti Singh – who was dubbed Nirbhaya – found justice in the Supreme Court verdict, with Bilkis Bano, the victim of anti-Muslim violence in Gujarat in 2002 who was treated differently.

Bilkis Bano is also the victim of the same crime. She was gangraped. 14 members of her family, including her 2-year-old daughter, were killed by a mob in Gujarat riots.

Netizens including journalists, politicians, lawyers and members of civil society voiced their concerns and highlighted the difference in the two verdicts between the Nirbhaya and Bilkis Bano case.

Here are some of the reactions:

https://twitter.com/Retributions/status/860450076392660992