Death penalty to four youths for India's most notorious crime: The Delhi Gangrape Case

We often thought that those committed the most brutal crimes were really hard-core criminals.

Perhaps, our perception is shaped by movies where we were shown that killers and murderers looked dreaded and had 'criminality' on their face.

The villains were made to look 'bad'. Their features weren't soft and their sight evoked fear. How else can these ordinary looking youths commit the most barbaric crime?

Besides, all of us have at some point of time heard that criminals come from particular classes or sections of society but isn't this a wrong perception!

These are all ordinary looking youths who had committed the crime that had shaken the entire country last year. 

The most notorious crime, the gangrape and murder of a Delhi girl in 2012, which fuelled nationwide anger, has shown us that crime is a malaise that afflicts anybody.

People who said that poor commit crime, very well know that one of the most brutal crimes have been committed by moneyed and filthy rich persons. Even ministers and bureaucrats have committed crimes. The latest example is that of self-styled Godmen.

So it is not correct to label any group.In this case, we find that the criminals represent all the prominent upper castes of India ie Brahmin (Pandit), Thakur (Rajput) and Bania (Vaishya). All these youths, if they pass by, you can't even distinguish them.

Just like their surnames--Sharma, Thakur, Gupta, Singh, which are the most common second names in India. So what sets them apart from others? Now we know them because of the crime they have committed. The fifth person hanged himself to death in the jail.

Ram Singh was the most brutal of them and the face of the monstrous crime. Read report about the entire crime. The sixth is said to be the member of a minority community and because he is an under-age or minor, his name is not being published.

Why they committed such a crime? The death penalty may to an extent soothe feelings of the victim's family. Let us hope that the punishment will check sexual crimes. The criminals may fear the rule of the law. Will it act as a deterrent? We hope so.