Rapists should die, says victim's father

The parents of the Delhi gang rape victim Wednesday demanded death penalty for her rapists and murderer, saying they "don't deserve to live".

After a Delhi court put off till Friday the ruling on the quantum of punishment for the four convicts, the father of the victim said he did not understand the court proceedings.

"But the one thing we know (is that) they must be hanged. 'Abhi uski marne ki umar nahi thi' (She was too young to die)," he said of the 23-year-old physiotherapy intern who was raped in December last year.

"We need death for all the accused. They killed our daughter and now they don't deserve to live," he said.

He said death sentence would send out a strong message.

When the woman's mother was told that the convicts were pleading for mercy, she said: "We are also begging for justice for our daughter. The court will not act on the emotions of the accused.

"We have faith in the judiciary and we are hopeful the accused will get death," she added.

The four accused -- Mukesh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur -- were found guilty, nine months after the barbaric crime that outraged the nation and hogged international spotlight.

--Indo-Asian New Service

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