NEW DELHI: Tihar authorities have started preparation for execution of the Nirbhaya gang-rape convicts, with requests made to their counterparts in Uttar Pradesh for hangmen.An official at Tihar told this newspaper that a team at the jail has inspected the structure, including the gallows, for the execution of the four convicts — Mukesh Singh, Pawan Gupta, Akshay Thakur and Vinay Sharma.
“The process of hanging requires some mechanical things. One has to see whether the structure is alright. A team from Tihar has inspected the working condition of that structure where we hang criminals,” he said. “We are waiting for the court order”.
The last execution at Tihar took place in 2013 when Mohammad Afzal Guru was hanged for his role in the 2001 Parliament attack.AIG, Tihar, Rajkumar said that the authorities were “always” ready to follow the order of the court. Ropes for the hanging of the four convicts in the Nirbhaya case, were procured from Buxar in Bihar, he said. Incidentally, ropes for Afzal Guru’s execution were procured from Buxar central jail as well.
The Tihar administration wrote to the UP Director General of Prisons, requesting for two hangmen to carry out execution of the four convicts who have been given capital punishment.“We received a request letter from the Tihar prison through fax on December 9 seeking services of the two hangmen of UP, as they do not have hangman there. The letter makes no mention of the convicts to be hanged,” Director General (DG) of UP Prisons (Administration and Reform Services), Anand Kumar said.
Meanwhile, sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs confirmed that no mercy plea in the Nirbhaya case is pending before the Rashtrapati Bhavan. An MHA official said that Vinay Sharma, one of the convicts, whose mercy plea was forwarded to President Ram Nath Kovind has now been withdrawn. On December 7, Sharma had moved a plea before the President and the MHA seeking immediate withdrawal of his mercy petition, as he claimed that he never authorised the mercy plea.