NEW DELHI: A little over seven years after a 23-year-old medical student died following her brutal gangrape in a moving bus in south Delhi, four of the culprits were hanged by their neck to death at 5.30am on Friday. This was the culmination of a long judicial process during which the parents of the victim, Nirbhaya, swung between hope and despair. “She got justice today. Through the day I have been looking at her photo and telling her she finally got justice,” said a visibly moved Asha Devi, mother of Nirbhaya.
The fifth culprit, Ram Singh, had been found hanging in his jail cell in March 2013, four months after the incident, while the sixth convict, found to be a juvenile, was let off as part of a reformation process.
The incident had shaken the conscience of the nation, leading to widespread outrage and demonstrations. It led to significant changes in the law — death penalty for rapists who brutalise their victims, full trial as adults for juveniles accused of heinous offences and fast-track courts for speedy trial in sexual assault cases. A Nirbhaya fund was set up by the Centre in 2013 to fund womens safety initiatives but utilisation has been quite poor.
The execution of the four convicts – Vinay, Pawan, Akshay and Mukesh – was the first mass hanging in Tihar Jail. The jail administration availed the services of a hangman though he hadnt hanged anyone before that but came from a family of hangmen. The last hanging was of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru who had been hanged by a jail official amidst high drama.
The executioner, Pawan Jallad, had to hold several dummy hangings in the specially constructed well in Tihar as the convicts availed every provision in the law and managed to get their hanging stayed on multiple occasions. The convicts exercised their options till two hours before the hangings as their lawyer approached the high court and Supreme Court through the night.
The four men lodged in prison number 3 were woken up around 3.30am and informed about their order for execution. The jail doctor checked their vital signs and declared them fit for hanging. The Tihar authorities asked the four men to put on white cotton clothes and offered them breakfast. Despite resistance from the men, the jail officials tied their hands and covered their faces with a black mask before guiding them to the gallows. The district magistrate, jail superintendent, his deputies and about 24 jail guards accompanied them to the hanging well. They were hanged at 5.30am.
Jail sources said the earnings of the convicts were handed over to their family members to complete their last rites. According to jail records, Akshay had earned Rs 69,000 during his stay while Vinay and Pawan earned Rs 39,000 and Rs 29,000, respectively. Mukesh had refused to work ever since he was lodged in the jail.
Mukesh donated his Read More – Source
