New Delhi: The mother of the December 16 gang rape victim yesterday pleaded, with tears in her eyes and folded hands, at the fast-track court to “give justice to her daughter”.
The mother of the 23-year-old physiotherapy student, who was gang-raped by six men in a moving bus on December 16 last year, appeared before Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna to depose as a prosecution witness in the case.
She was cross-examined by the counsels of accused Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Akshay Thakur.
Accused Mukesh’s counsel refused to cross-examine the mother, saying that she had lost a daughter and he did not want to hurt her feelings by asking questions.
During the cross-examination, she said the victim was her eldest child and was studying in Dehradun, and was in Delhi for her vacations from the first week of November.
She said that on the day of the incident, her daughter told her that she would watch a movie with her male friend, adding that even earlier her daughter sometimes went to watch movies at a cinema.
She said she had known her daughter’s male friend for the past two years as he used to visit his uncle, who lived in their neighbourhood.
On the fateful day, she said, her daughter left the house at
4 pm, telling her that she had to make some purchases and would also watch a movie.
“When she did not return till about 9 pm, I made a call on her mobile. However, her phone was switched off. My husband then returned from his office and I informed him that she (daughter) had not reached home. We both were very worried about our daughter,” the mother said.
She said she had also called her daughter’s friend, but his phone was also switched off.
The mother said that at 11 pm, she received a call from the police that something had happened to her daughter and that she should come to Safdarjang Hospital.
“I, along with my husband, rushed to the hospital and there I found my daughter admitted in emergency (ward). I could not talk to my daughter at that time as she was being taken for operation,” she said.
The last time she spoke to her daughter was on December 25, before she was taken to Singapore for treatment.
The victim died on December 29 in Singapore and her body was handed over to the family at Indira Gandhi International Airport here, the mother said during her cross-examination.
IANS
