BENGALURU: As the Supreme Court is set to hear a plea against the release of the 20-year-old who was accused as a juvenile in the Nirbhaya case, the entire nation watches with bated breath.
In the minds of most people, the incident and subsequent resolution is cast in black and white. After witnessing the horror that the victim’s parents suffered, many are of the opinion that letting the boy walk away is akin to letting him go unpunished and free of the crime.
Chairperson of Karnataka Commission for Protection of Child Rights Kripa Alva firmly believes that it does not matter whether a person committing a heinous crime is young or old. “They should be punished and we should not show any pity on them. When we say that circumstances are responsible then that is the moment we start supporting such nonsense,” Alva opines. However, she believes that it is not just punishment, but such youngsters should have access to rehabilitation centres and also be counselled.
But there are people in the city, who see the boy too as a victim of his circumstances and an unfair media trial.
“I found neither in the judgment delivered by the Juvenile Justice Board nor in the charge sheet that the minor was the most brutal of those who assaulted Jyothi Singh. The boy’s social history has revealed that he had a very difficult and neglectful upbringing and one could easily say he had no childhood,” says former member of National Commission for Protection of Child Right, Nina Nayak. “Most of the media are calling him the most brutal of those who assaulted the victim and being insensitive and ruthless, without any evidence,” she asserts.
Veteran child rights activist Vasudev Sharma says the boy was the victim as he became the tool in the hands of abusive world and subsequently the girl too became a victim in the process. “I am not opposing her parents’ feeling. I respect it. But let’s wait and see what happens. When he comes out, he will become a victim all over again as people are acting as if he is evil,” Sharma says.
Sharma comments that the prevailing attitude of the people makes him fear for this society. “It is a law by government. Let us give him a chance” he adds.
