(Image source from: Nirbhaya's parents seek Rajya Sabha passage of Juvenile Justice Bill})

Nirbhaya's parents, parents of the December 16 gang rape victim, have met opposition leader in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, seeking the Juvenile Justice Bill passage to allow children between ages 16 to 18 to be tried equal to adults in heinous crime cases.

After meeting the Congress leader at the latter's residence, the father of the victim, Badri Singh Pandey, said, "We have been assured that the bill will be passed tomorrow and we believe that. Now, it is not the right time to talk about him (the juvenile convict of the gangrape case) as he is a free man and there is no law to hold him back. Our fight is not only for us but for all women and girls."

The government said on a day when the a plea was rejected by SC against the release of juvenile  convict of the Nirbhaya rape case, that the amendments to Juvenile Justice Act will be brought before Rajya Sabha. The act would allow children aged between 16 and 18 years to be tried as adults in heinous crime cases.

Earlier in the day, Congress said that the move from the government is "brazen mischief" and alleged that intends to "defame the opposition", besides diverting the attention from DDCA issue.

Azad said, "Let them not do this mischief. This is a total brazen mischief on the part of the government... This is only to divert the attention of the opposition from raising other issues, about DDCA." He added that the Congress would support the Juvenile Justice Bill in Rajya Sabha.

Prior to meeting the Congress leader, Nirbhaya's parents along with hundreds of activists and youth, took part in a candlelight march at Jantar Mantar. On Sunday, the juvenile convict was sent to NGO shelter in Delhi, amid protests.

-Sumana