India executed on Friday four men convicted of the 2012 rape and murder of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student.

The student, who became known to the media as Nirbhava, or the fearless one, was brutally beaten and raped by the four men on a bus in 2012. She and a male friend were both beaten and left naked on the roadside. One other man and a 17-year-old boy were also involved in the attack. The male friend survived, but Nirbhava died two weeks later.

This attack drew unprecedented focus to sexual assault in India, leading to protests throughout India. This prompted the Indian government to increase prison time for convicted rapists. 

The four men were sentenced in 2013, and their final appeals were dismissed on Thursday. This was the first execution in India since 2015.