All Hyderabad vet rape case accused shot dead by police; reactions pour in

The father and the sister of the woman veterinarian said they were very happy and thanked the Telangana government and police.

All four accused in the rape-and-murder of a 25-year-old woman veterinarian last month were killed by police on Friday morning, triggering a chorus of praise for what many saw as speedy justice but also raising concerns over extra-judicial executions.

The incident took place around 6.30 am when the accused, lorry workers aged between 20 and 24, were taken to the scene of the crime near Hyderabad for a reconstruction of events as part of the investigation, a senior police official said.

“They (accused) snatched weapons from police and fired on police and tried to escape… police fired in retaliation in which the four accused died,” a senior police official told PTI. Two policemen were also injured, he said. The four men were arrested on November 29 for allegedly raping and killing the woman by smothering her and later burning her body, an incident that led to widespread outrage and recalled the horrors of the December 16, 2012 gangrape and murder of a physiotherapy intern in Delhi.

They were remanded to seven days’ judicial custody. News of the ‘encounter’ killing led to celebrations in some quarters and concern in others. The father and the sister of the woman veterinarian said they were very happy and thanked the Telangana government and police. “We watched on TV that they were killed in an encounter. We are very happy. Even people are happy. I thank the Telangana government and police for the encounter. I thank everyone who stood by us,” the father told the media….Read More

I was raped at 16: Padma Lakshmi opens up about being silent on her rape

I understand why a woman would wait years to disclose a sexual assault.

Padma Lakshmi : When I was 16 years old, I started dating a guy I met at the Puente Hills Mall in a Los Angeles suburb. I worked there after school at the accessories counter at Robinsons-May. He worked at a high-end men’s store. He would come in wearing a gray silk suit and flirt with me. He was in college, and I thought he was charming and handsome. He was 23.

When we went out, he would park the car and come in and sit on our couch and talk to my mother. He never brought me home late on a school night. We were intimate to a point, but he knew that I was a virgin and that I was unsure of when I would be ready to have sex.| Business Standard

On New Year’s Eve, just a few months after we first started dating, he raped me.

I have been turning that incident over in my head throughout the past week, as two women have come forward to detail accusations against the Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Christine Blasey Ford said he climbed on her and covered her mouth during an attempted rape when they were both in high school, and Deborah Ramirez said he exposed himself to her when they were in college.

On Friday, President Trump tweeted that if what Dr. Blasey said was true, she would have filed a police report years ago. But I understand (BS) why both women would keep this information to themselves for so many years, without involving the police. For years, I did the same thing. On Friday, I tweeted about what had happened to me so many years ago.

You may want to know if I had been drinking on the night of my rape. It doesn’t matter, but I was not drunk. Maybe you will want to know what I was wearing or if I had been ambiguous about my desires. It still doesn’t matter, but I was wearing a long-sleeved, black Betsey Johnson maxi dress that revealed only my shoulders.

You may want to know if I had been drinking on the night of my rape. It doesn’t matter, but I was not drunk. Maybe you will want to know what I was wearing or if I had been ambiguous about my desires. It still doesn’t matter, but I was wearing a long-sleeved, black Betsey Johnson maxi dress that revealed only my shoulders.

The two of us had gone to a couple of parties. Afterward, we went to his apartment. While we were talking, I was so tired that I lay on the bed and fell asleep.

International News : The next thing I remember is waking up to a very sharp stabbing pain like a knife blade between my legs. He was on top of me. I asked, “What are you doing?” He said, “It will only hurt for a while.” “Please don’t do this,” I screamed.

The pain was excruciating, and as he continued, my tears felt like fear.

Afterward, he said, “I thought it would hurt less if you were asleep.” Then he drove me home.

I didn’t report it. Not to my mother, not to my friends and certainly not to the police. At first I was in shock. That evening, I let my mother know when I was home, then went to sleep, hoping to forget that night.

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Nirbhaya gangrape case: SC shows no mercy; death sentence for 4 culprits

Here is a timeline of crucial developments in the case so far

 

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the death sentence on all four convicts in the December 2012 NIRBHAYA Delhi gang-rape. Mukesh, Pawan, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur were convicted on charges of brutally raping and assaulting a 23-year-old paramedical student inside a bus that led to her death.

'It is a barbaric incident', Supreme Court said in its order.

The Delhi High Court earlier upheld their conviction and death sentence. 

The matter was heard by the apex court bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra and consisting of Justices R Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan. 

"Taking the serious injuries, the severe nature of the offence committed by the convicts, we are upholding the sentence," the Supreme Court bench said.

Here is a timeline of crucial developments in the case so far

May 5, 2017: The Supreme Court to pronounced its judgment in infamous 2012 Delhi gang rape case.

March 27, 2017: The Supreme Court reserves verdict after nearly a year of hearing the case.

March 6, 2017: All the accused submit additional affidavits in the Court.

February 3, 3017: The Supreme Court decides to re-hear the case on the sentencing aspect, after the petitioners contend that there have been violations in procedure.

January 6, 2017: The Supreme Court seeks mitigating circumstances from the accused.

November 28, 2016: Senior Advocate and Amicus Curiae Sanjay Hegde argues against reliability of evidence in the case.

November 7, 2016: Senior Advocate and Amicus Curiae Raju Ramachandran makes his submissions, argues for the sentencing order to be set aside.

September 16, 2016: Former Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) (Delhi) Chaya Sharma, who was transferred to Mizoram post the Delhi gang rape case, attends the hearing.

September 2, 2016: Advocate M. L. Sharma concludes his submissions.

August 29, 2016: High drama in the courtroom as allegation of the police tampering with evidence is made.

April 8, 2016: Senior Advocates Raju Ramachandran and Sanjay Hegde appointed Amicus Curiae.

April 3, 2016: Hearings begin in the Supreme Court, after 19 months of being in cold storage. Justices Dipak Misra, V. Gopala Gowda and Kurian Joseph to hear the case.

December 18, 2015: Delhi High Court refuses to stay release of the minor-accused, who walks free after three years in a juvenile home.

March 15, 2014: The Supreme Court stays execution of the accused after allegations of a denial of fair trial.

March 13, 2014: Delhi High Court Bench of Justices Reva Khetrapal and Pratibha Rani upholds the trial Court verdict.

September 13, 2013: Four remaining accused sentenced to death by Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna.

January 29, 2013: The Supreme Court dismisses transfer petition.

August 31, 2013: Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) presided over by Principal District Magistrate Geetanjali Goel finds the juvenile accused guilty of rape and murder of the medical student, sentences him to three years in Special Home.

March 11, 2013: Main accused Ram Singh commits suicide in Tihar jail.

December 16, 2012: Six men, including the 17-year-old juvenile, gang-rape a 23-year-old physiotherapy intern in a moving bus on December 16, 2012. The girl and her friend were returning home after watching a movie when they were coaxed into the bus by the accused, who then beat up her friend before taking turns in raping her.

The girl succumbed to her injuries in a Singapore hospital on December 29, 2012.

The convicts - Akshay, Pawan, Vinay Sharma and Mukesh - challenged the Delhi High Court order which had sentenced them to the gallows.| READ MORE...