Delhi gangrape victim would have turned 24 today, friend pays tribute

“She isn’t with us, we can only remember her. She hasn’t yet got justice. We are still fighting for her,” says Delhi gang-rape victim’s friend. He will spend the day in court being cross-examined in a trial that he is hopeful will bring justice to his friend. It is perhaps the best tribute a friend could pay. “I would wish her at midnight. We would usually spend the day visiting religious places,” he recollects. [caption id=“attachment_591955” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Protests at Jantar Mantar on 16 January. Naresh Sharma/ Firstpost[/caption] Looking back at the last six months, he says, “I am also a victim. I’ve faced the problems that a common man faces with the police, with hospitals. I’ve tried to reach out to politicians but to no avail…The debate in Parliament on the anti-rape law was reduced to a joke by politicians. Where was the voice of the young politicians on that day?” Asked what he hoped and wished for on his friend’s birthday, he says, “How many more victims will there have to be before sense prevails. Empowering women is fundamental to change in society and educating the girl child is the foundation. The government should extend benefits and full support families with girl children.” The complainant in the case, victim’s friend is prosecution’s most crucial witness in the case. On the night of December 16, he was brutally attacked and his friend gang-raped before they were thrown off a moving bus. His friend succumbed to injuries at a hospital in Singapore, where she had been shifted to, on December 29. Accused Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur, Pawan Gupta and Mukesh are standiung trial for murder and gang-rape. The fifth accused, a juvenile is facing trial before the juvenile justice board. One of the accused, Ram Singh, was found hanging in his prison cell in Tihar Jail on March 11. So far 73 witnesses have been examined by the fast-track court and a verdict is expected in July.