NEW DELHI, Nov 25 (NDTV) : In less than three weeks, the youngest of the six men who gang-raped and tortured a student on a moving bus in Delhi in 2012, will walk free. To keep him in jail, the Delhi Police is considering charges under the National Security Act.
Senior police officers met with legal experts on Saturday to discuss whether tough anti-terror charges can stick against the convict, now 21. An Intelligence Bureau report had said in September that the convict had been "brainwashed" by a suspect of the Delhi High Court blast in 2011.
"It's time for the police to act, not just think," the young woman's father Badrinath told NDTV.
"A criminal should have no rights."
The parents of Nirbhaya - as the 23-year-old came to be known - have demanded that the "juvenile's" face be shown. To stop his release, they have petitioned the home ministry, courts and now the National Human Rights Commission.
A person can be jailed for 12 months at a stretch under the National Security Act or NSA.
The convict, who was below 18 at the time of the horrific crime, was sentenced to three years in a reform home. The punishment was seen by many as disproportionate to the enormity of the offence and spurred demands for changes in the law to try teenagers involved in serious crimes as adults. Four other convicts have been sentenced to death and a fifth was found dead in prison.
"We have demanded that his face be revealed to the public. He is a threat to a society as well as to us. We also want proof that he is not a threat to society, which a psychological test should prove. We want to know how are cops going to keep an eye on him," Mr Badrinath said.
The "juvenile" was largely responsible for the death of their daughter and the "most brutal" of all the rapists, say the parents, asserting that he could well commit the crime again. Based on their complaint, the National Human Rights Commission has issued notices to the Centre and Delhi government.
Worried about a possible backlash after the convict's release, the home ministry has asked for the opinion of the Delhi Police.