New Delhi: The four convicts in the 16 December gang rape and murder case will be hanged together in a row by a hangman from Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut, ThePrint has learnt. This is the first time that four convicts will be hanged together on the same platform.
The hanging was scheduled for 7 am on 22 January after a Delhi court Tuesday issued a death warrant for the four convicts — Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta, Akshay Thakur and Mukesh — in the gang rape and murder case of a paramedical student.
According to a source in Tihar, the jail authorities in Meerut have already been contacted and the availability of the hangman has been confirmed.
“We have spoken to authorities in UP and the hangman has been arranged. He will be reaching here on 20 January,” a Tihar official told ThePrint on condition of anonymity. “He has carried out several hangings in the past.”
The four will also be moved to separate cells in Jail number 3.
“The convicts were lodged with other prisoners till now but tonight they will be moved to separate cells. They will be kept separately, till the date of hanging,” the source said.
The review petitions of all four convicts have been dismissed. Vinay Sharma had filed a mercy plea before the President, but he withdrew it and the other three never filed one.
They can now either file a curative plea before the Supreme Court and plead mercy from the President of India. Both remedies can be applied for at any time until 22 January, even hours before. But there must be sufficient time for the appeal to be heard by the court, else it will be null and void.
Also read: 16 December gangrape convicts to hang on 22 January, rules Delhi court
Platform renovated
To accommodate four persons, Tihar authorities have got the platform renovated to make it sturdy and the well in which the bodies will fall too has been deepened and widened. The well is usually 15 to 20 feet deep.
“Since it is the first time that four persons will be hanged together, the platform had to be widened and the well deepened. All that is ready. The lever too has been oiled and checked,” the Tihar jail source said. “A mock hanging with sand bags has also been carried out.”
According to an officer posted in Tihar jail, the execution will take place in the phansi kotha inside jail number 3. The phansi kotha is also the place where the bodies of Afzal Guru and Kashmir separatist leader Maqbool Bhat are buried.
The approximate height and weight of all four convicts have been given to Bihar’s Buxar jail and an order placed for a dozen ropes. The officer said the length of the rope is 1.6 times more than the height of the convict, and its thickness is proportional to the convict’s weight
Also read: Gym instructor, fruitseller, bus driver — the 6 men convicted in Nirbhaya gangrape-murder