Hangman to report 3 days before Nirbhaya convicts put to gallows
With just five days left for the execution of death sentence in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case, Delhi’s Tihar Jail authorities on Sunday said they have asked the hangman to report three days ahead of the scheduled hanging.
The four convicts in the case – Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31) – are set to be hanged till death at 5.30 am on March 20. The execution of their death warrants has been deferred thrice so far due to delays by them in exhausting legal remedies.
After the fresh death warrant was issued, the jail authorities have written to their counterparts in Uttar Pradesh requesting for the service of hangman Pawan Jallad. Director General (Prisons) Sandeep Goel said that Pawan Jallad, a hangman from Meerut, has been asked to report at Tihar Jail on March 17, three days ahead of the scheduled date of hanging.
The jail superintendent gives a final signal to the hangman to push the lever. The convicts remain in hanging position until death. Other prisoners are kept locked in their cells.
The dummy executions will be conducted again after the arrival of the hangman.
A jail official said that the health checks-up of the convicts is being done once in a day and they are being counselled on a regular basis. Of the four convicts, Mukesh, Pawan and Vinay have had their last face-toface meetings with their respective families. The authorities have written to the family of Akshay about the date for final meeting before the scheduled date of execution. The jail authorities have also not stopped the convicts’ weekly meetings with their families yet.
On the day of hanging,
Once the convicts are hanged, their bodies remain suspended in the air for nearly half-an-hour. They are then taken down and a doctor checks the bodies of the prisoners to confirm death.
the jail superintendent is expected to wake up the convicts at 3 about am and then ask them to freshen up. Prisoners will be allowed to take a bath – if they want they will be provided hot water. Then, they will be served their favourite breakfast.
As per the procedure, the convicts will be allowed some time alone so that they can remember their family members and closed ones. If desired by the convicts, they will be provided with some religious books and allowed to recite prayers.
According to the jail manual, the convicts will be examined afresh by a doctor on the day of the execution. They will then be asked to change their clothes and be in plain cotton attire. The hands of the convicts will then be tied at their back and their faces covered with a black cotton hood or cloth. They will not be allowed to watch their hanging gallows.
The convicts will then be escorted to the noose and placed under the beam, following which they will be handed over to the hangman, who will tie their legs together. The rope will be placed around their necks and the executioner will draw the bolt.
A guard, 10 constables, wardens, and two head constables, head wardens or an equal number from the prison Armed Guards will be allowed to be present at execution. A doctor will also be called to the hanging site so that the prisoners are checked after they are taken down post hanging.
The jail manual categorically states that no prisoner should be allowed to witnesses the execution of a fellow inmate and neither should the convict who is to be hanged be made to see the gallows. It states that prisoners of all categories shall be kept locked up until the execution is over and the body removed from the prison. Even families and relatives of the prisoner are not allowed to watch the execution process. The superintendent, with the approval of the government, can, however, permit social scientists, psychologists, psychiatrists who are conducting research to be present.
The jail manual grants an exception to those who can witness an execution. It states that after taking prior permission from the government, the jail superintendent can allow social scientists, psychologists, psychiatrists etc. who are conducting a research on matters related to death sentence to be present during the execution.
The jail superintendent gives a final signal to the hangman to push the lever. The convicts remain in hanging position until their death. According to the jail manual, other prisoners are kept locked in their cells and are not allowed to watch the execution procedure.
Once the convicts are hanged, their bodies remain suspended in the air for nearly half-an-hour. They are then taken down and a doctor checks the bodies of the prisoners to confirm death. Bodies of the convicts are then sent for autopsy, following which they are laid to rest/consigned to flames as per their religions.
A 23-year-old physiotherapy intern, who came to be known as ‘Nirbhaya’ (fearless), was gang raped and brutally assaulted in a moving bus in South Delhi on December 16, 2012. She had boarded the nearly vacant bus in Munirka in South Delhi along with her male friend on her way back home. After raping and brutalising the woman and beating her friend, the assailants had thrown them out of the bus. After receiving initial treatment in New Delhi for a few days, she was taken to the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore, where she died after a fortnight.