“I don’t want to die, save me. I want justice and capital punishment for those who did this to me. Do not leave them at any cost,” the last words of his mother continue to haunt the 28-year-old son of a widow who was brutally gangraped over a month ago at Sandeshkhali in North 24 parganas, around 120 kilometres from Kolkata.

The 61-year-old’s gangrape was followed by extreme levels of brutality on the part of the perpetrators who inserted an empty liquor bottle and iron rods into her private parts.

The incident has revived chilling memories of the Nirbhaya case that had shocked the collective conscience of the country in 2012, forcing parliamentarians to implement a tough law to curb crimes involving sexual violence.