When Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan claimed in parliament on Monday that people involved in heinous rape-murders were best "lynched in public", the idea found favour with many who believed that conventional punishments are not adequate to stem the occurrence of such crimes. A notable exception was Badrinath Singh, the father of a medical student who was brutalised before being killed in the national capital seven years ago. "It's alright if somebody who's not that well-read says that rapists should be handed over to mobs to be killed, but those in our parliament should keep the laws of this country in mind. Do any of our laws allow for rapists to be subjected to mob justice? Such remarks may be made in the heat of the moment, but I don't favour them," the father of the 23-year-old woman -- now known widely as "Nirbhaya" -- told NDTV.
