Across the nation, people Friday hailed the death sentence given to the four men who gang-raped a young woman in the national capital, demonstrating the strong feelings the horrible crime had evoked.
"It's a punishment for what they have done and they deserve it. These people are social evil and should be removed from society," R. Soudamini, retired headmistress from Calicut in Kerala, told IANS.
Saying the verdict will act as a deterrent, Parineeta Roy Chaudhury, a homemaker from Kolkata, said: "Every rapist should be hanged so that at least others are afraid of committing such a heinous crime."
"Even in Kolkata, which was once a safe city, these kinds of crimes are on the rise. I hope people will take a lesson from this case," Chaudhury told IANS.
G.T. Venkatramani from Chennai said: "Having lived in the Middle East where capital punishment is the norm, I would say it keeps its people safer, especially the women."
Some felt that the juvenile accused, sent to a reformatory home for three years, should also be given the capital punishment.
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"It is still sad because the juvenile gets only three years' imprisonment. However, this verdict will help Nirbhaya's (imaginary name given to the victim) soul rest in peace," T.C. Bhutia, a student from Sikkim, told IANS.
"I think it is a good start, and the verdict sets an optimistic air but there is still a long way to go. We need measures to ensure safety of women in India. That will be a real victory for the women of this country," Mohini Nair, a Mumbai-based advertising professional, told IANS.
"Biggest challenge is to change the mindset. Become liberal and cultural in true sense of the word. And yes, we still need to shut up the moral brigade," Gauri Gharpure, a freelancer from Goa, told IANS.
The social networking sites Facebook and Twitter were all flooded with reactions from across the country.
Interestingly, there were more men reacting to the verdict and expressed joy at the speedy trial of justice.
"Though I believe that justice delayed is justice denied, the current judgment is definitely commendable," wrote Naveen Nair on his Facebook wall.
Sumanto Ray tweeted: "First time in India, the case did not keep on hanging. Hope is still alive."
"The best part about the Delhi gang rape verdict is the speed with which the trial was held. Death's not a solution. Timely justice is," tweeted Dev Seeth.
Radhika Gupta questioned: "Delhi gang rape judgment hopefully will be a lesson for those who don't even think twice before doing something so disgusting. Can we now feel safe?"
Shubh Shukla said: "Friday the 13th is happy day for Indians and Indian law. Death sentence for all four rapists."
"Finally our protests and getting hit by lathis did not go in vain," said Happy Harshit Walia, a Delhi-based photographer.