Braveheart Nirbhaya excelled in academics

New Delhi: An embedded glass cabinet in the living room of Nirbhaya's parents' house in Dwarka area here contains a collection of academic excellence trophies, portraits of her grandparents and a blue coffee mug that the 23-year-old young woman held dear in her life before it was tragically cut short in December 2012. The mug now occupies a place of pride on the top shelf sitting next to the trophies she won in school, points her uncle Pawan Kumar Singh.

The horrific gang rape and murder of the physiotherapy intern had sent shockwaves across the country and triggered nationwide protests and a global public outcry.

These trophies she won in schools remind us of her even when she is gone. She excelled in studies in school and would come in top bracket of her class year after year. And, that blue coffee mug was her favourite, she used it often," Singh told PTI.

The cabinet also has various citations presented to her mother or father by various entities.

On Friday, when the TV channels were presenting news on the hanging of the four convicts, the screen of the television reflected on a citation that read 'Woman of the Year' presented by a noted TV network. In a way life came full circle for Asha Devi who fought relentlessly to get justice for her daughter. A framed poster hung on the wall carrying the image of a single flame, with a caption 'In Loving Memory of Nirbhaya -- The Braveheart'. Sunita Singh, 48, said, "My niece was a very simple girl". "She liked studying and was very committed about it. She did not have much hobbies, but, she was spiritual. Today, if she can hear us, we want to tell her that we finally got justice," she added.

From a central jail that could lodge only 1,273 prisoners to becoming south Asia's largest prison complex that houses over 17,500 inmates, Tihar's journey is ridden with controversies, brushes with high-profile prisoners and some memorable hangings.

Friday's hanging of the four Nirbhaya gangrape-and-murder case convicts was a first in Tihar's history as never before four convicts were sent to the gallows at the same time. Currently, 10 death-row convicts are lodged in the prison, according to its website.

In spite of being the largest prison in south Asia, Tihar does not have a hangman for years now and had to hire Pawan Jallad from Meerut for Friday's execution. Who had pulled the lever when Afzal Guru was hanged in 2013 is still a secret as the jail did not have a hangman even then.

On February 9, 2013, Parliament attack convict Mohammed Afzal Guru (43) was hanged in Tihar. Guru, who was lodged in Jail No. 3, was executed at 8 am near his jail in a top-secret operation. Before Guru, the jail had also witnessed the hanging of another Kashmiri separatist leader, Maqbool Bhat, in 1984. In July 1985, Kartar and Ujagar Singh were hanged.

They were hired by an eye surgeon to kill his wife after she came to know about his affair with his secretary. While the doctor and his lover walked free after spending 16 years in prison, Kartar and Ujagar Singh were hanged.