I greet this day with aplomb that justice has finally been done to Nirbhaya: Irani

Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said on Friday that the hanging of four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case will send out a strong message to criminals that they cannot escape the law.

"I have seen Nirbhaya's mother's struggle over the years, though it took time to get justice but it has been done finally. It is also a message to people that you can run away from law but cannot finally avoid it. I'm happy that justice has been done.

"I greet this day with aplomb that justice has finally been done to Nirbhaya. The hanging is a message for every criminal that one day law will catch up with you," she told reporters in Parliament Complex.

The four men -- Mukesh Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31) -- convicted for the 2012 gang rape and murder of the 23-year-old physiotherapy intern, who later came to be known as 'Nirbhaya', were hanged at 5.30 am inside Delhi's Tihar Jail.