Hope they are hanged this time: Nirbhaya's mother

Nirbhaya's parents on Monday expressed hope that the four convicts in their daughter's rape-and-murder case would finally be hanged on March 3, the latest execution date fixed by a court after two earlier death warrants were stayed.

"We hope the order (death warrant) is finally executed," her mother said, just after a Delhi court issued fresh death warrants against the four convicts setting up their execution on March 3 at 6 am.

This is the third time that death warrants have been issued against Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Kumar Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar (31).

Two earlier warrants could not be executed as the convicts were yet to exhaust the legal and other remedies available.

The first date of execution, January 22, was postponed to February 1 by a January 17 court order.

Then the trial court, on January 31, stayed, "till further orders" the execution of the four convicts as they had not exhausted all their legal remedies.

The mother also expressed hope that the courts do not entertain any pleas to delay the execution any further.

Nirbhaya's father said now that the death warrant has been issued, they have been receiving congratulatory messages stating their seven-year-old struggle for justice will finally come to an end.

He, however, was also a bit cautious.

"We are happy with the issuance of death warrant. But our struggle will continue till they are hanged," the father said.

The family has been waging a battle to see the perpetrators involved in crime against their daughter are punished.

The 23-year-old physiotherapy intern, who came to be known as 'Nirbhaya' (fearless), was gang-raped and savagely assaulted on the night of December 16, 2012, in a moving bus in South Delhi. She died of her injuries a fortnight later in a Singapore hospital.

Six people including the four convicts, Ram Singh and a juvenile -- were named as accused.

The trial of the five adult men began in a special fast-track court in March 2013.