BENGALURU: On a day when the Supreme Court rejected the review plea of Nirbhaya rapists, people from various walks of life including advocates and former police officers hoped for an early decision on a similar petition of serial rapist Umesh Reddy.A death row convict currently lodged in Hindalga jail in Belagavi, Reddy has been found guilty in nine rape and murder cases and his review petition has been pending before the Supreme Court since 2013.
A source in the Prisons Department said, “We cannot do much now. In fact in 2013, we made all preparations to hang him. There is a process of 18 days where the hangman has to practise everyday by hanging a doll or gunny bag which weighs as much as the convict. We were practising it and it was when he approached the Supreme Court and brought a stay.”
Former ACP Abdul Azeem who had caught Reddy in one of the cases almost two decades back told The New Indian Express that his case was a nightmare for the police as well as the public. People would often panic and call up the police even if they saw someone who looked like Reddy. He was a terror and there are many such cases in India, some of them pending before judiciary for 10-15 years, he said. “Justice delayed is justice denied. In this case, Reddy went upto the President filing a mercy petition. There is a long delay in his case,’’ he said.
Azeem said it is high time the government intervened and cleared all the hurdles. “Execution should happen. There should be fear in culprits,’’ he added. Former advocate general Ashok Haranahalli said as Reddy’s case has been pending before the Supreme Court, anyone - complainant, common public or the government - can file petitions seeking his execution. “In such cases, a delay will be in favour of the convict. There will be chances of death sentence becoming commuted to life sentence...,’’ he said.
Reddy had committed heinous crimes in several parts of the country including Gujarat and Karnataka till 1997. He had escaped while being shifted to Ballari jail in 1997. In March 1998, he was arrested in connection with the rape and murder of a widow in Bengaluru. But soon escaped while being brought to court. Reddy was again arrested in 2002 by Bengaluru police after he was spotted in a saloon.
In 2006, a fast track court sentenced Reddy to death for the rape and murder of the widow. He challenged the death penalty in the High Court which ultimately upheld it after a split verdict. In 2012, he wrote to the State government, but it rejected his mercy plea . The subsequent year, he wrote to the President who too rejected his mercy plea. He later filed a fresh petition which has been pending before the Supreme Court.