Bedsheet wrapped around Nirbhaya was drenched in blood, recalls first witness

As the whole nation sat glued to the television to hear the much-awaited judgment in the Nirbhaya case, away from the media glare was another man who was eagerly waiting for the same.

Seated in his small house in Palam, Rajkumar Singh broke into tears of joy as the television channels flashed the news of death sentence of four convicts upheld by the Apex court.

52-year-old Singh was the first witness to the dreadful incident. He was out on his patrolling duty on the night of December 16, 2012, when he spotted the two victims in the bushes in Mahipalpur. After this, he informed his company which later called the police.

"I almost jumped with joy. This was the judgment that I was waiting for. These rapists deserved the death penalty. I was a witness to the brutality these men had inflicted on the girl. She was naked, bleeding and could hardly speak. I heard the man crying and shouting for help. I was shocked to see their condition," said Rajkumar.

Back then, Rajkumar was working with a company that provided services to National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). He recalled that on that night, he had joined work at around 9:30 pm. During the rounds on his bike, he heard painful voices screaming for 'help' from the bushes.

"They were naked. I rushed to a hotel situated at the other side of the street. I fetched a 'chadar' (bedsheet) and covered them with it. The bedsheet wrapped around the girl turned red. It was a horrible sight," added Rajkumar.

For the past four years, Rajkumar has been shuttling between police stations and courts on various hearings to help with the legal proceedings. Presently, he is working as a security staff with Cargo Service Center at IGI Airport.