Crime has won and we have lost was the immediate one-line reaction of the mother of Nirbhaya,  the December 16 gang-rape victim, minutes after the Delhi High Court refused to stop the release of the juvenile convict in the case.

The convict is to be released on or before 20 December, reported The Hindu.

Expressing her disappointment, the victim’s mother Asha Devi said: ‘Despite all our efforts for three years, our government and our courts have released a criminal. The assurance we were given that we would get justice has not been delivered. The fight is not over. We are shattered.’

‘Today, a criminal has been set free despite all our efforts. We hear that he will be monitored by a committee for the next two years,’ she said.

‘The victim’s father, Badrinath Singh, said he wasn’t in the frame of mind to articulate his thoughts. ‘

‘We aren’t bigger than the court. The order has been issued. There is nothing we can do now. Our fight is a larger one to ensure that the crime of rape is done away with in society. Our fight isn’t over yet.’