A new morning has dawned for us: Nirbhaya's granddad  

 Nirbhaya's grandfather Lalji Singh on Friday said the darkest night that lasted for seven years, was finally over and a new morning has dawned following the hanging of four convicts in the 2012 gang rape and murder case.

He said, "The entire village stood with our family. They did not celebrate Holi this year because we were upset with the delay in the hanging of the convicts. We will now celebrate Holi with them."

Singh, who is the victim's paternal grandfather, termed the four convicts, who were hanged on Friday morning inside Tihar jail, as 'deadly' as the coronavirus.

"The court's verdict is dedicated to all women in the country and I hope that such heinous crime will now stop," he added.

The four convicts -- Mukesh, Vinay, Pawan and Akshay were among the six who raped and brutalized the 23-year-old paramedic on December 16, 2012 and her male companion on a bus in Delhi.

The victim, who came to be known as Nirbhaya, died during treatment in Singapore on December 29 and the accused were arrested on January 3.

One of the convicts who was a minor at the time of the incident was sent to a juvenile home and released after three years. Another convict Ram Singh committed suicide in Tihar jail.-IANS