Asha Devi, Nirbhaya's Mother speaking to news media
New Delhi [India], Mar 20 (ANI): The four convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case were hanged to death at 5:30 a.m. in Delhi’s Tihar jail on Friday, bringing the curtains down on the drama surrounding the execution that saw the death warrants cancelled thrice on various grounds over the last two-and-a-half months.
The hanging was carried out as per schedule at 5:30 a.m. after a three-judge Supreme Court bench rejected the final plea by the convicts’ lawyer AP Singh to stay their execution in a late-night hearing. The hangman, Pawan, who had reached the Tihar jail on Tuesday, three days before the hanging and conducted necessary dummy hangings, pulled the liver at the scheduled time. The victim’s parents — mother Asha Devi and father Badrinath Singh — hailed the hanging saying that their daughter had finally got the justice, over seven years after she was brutalised in a moving bus in the national capital.
A Delhi court had on March 5 issued the death warrant for the four convicts – Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Mukesh Singh – to be executed at 5:30 a.m. at Tihar jail.
The jail authorities woke up the four convicts, who had been kept in four separate cells amid tight security, at 3.30 a.m. as per jail manual, two hours before the execution time.
The four had reportedly spent a restless night. Earlier in the day, Akshay Thakur had moved the Supreme Court challenging rejection of his mercy petition. The apex court rejected his plea. Also, the lower court refused to stay the execution. The convicts then moved to Delhi High Court late on Thursday evening.
The High Court too refused to stay the execution. Finally, the convicts’ lawyer approached the Supreme Court post midnight and requested an urgent hearing in the case. A three-judge bench heard the case at 2:30 a.m. on Friday. After an hour of hearing, the bench of Justices R Banumathi, Ashok Bhushan and JAS Bopanna rejected the petition, observing that the arguments being presented by the convicts’ lawyer had been repeated before various courts earlier and lacked the merit to challenge the rejection of mercy petitions by the President.
The four convicts, along with two others including Ram Singh and a juvenile, had raped and brutally tortured a 23-year-old paramedic student on a moving bus in south Delhi on the night of December 16, 2012. The victim died a few days later after battling for life at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital and later at a Singapore hospital.
The case had created an uproar across the country, especially in Delhi where a large number of people came out on the streets, demanding justice for the victim, who was renamed as ‘Nirbhaya’ or the fearless.
On Friday, hundreds of people gathered outside Tihar jail , holding placards and banners and raising slogans in support of the hanging of the convicts. Security outside the jail had been tightened.
The bodies were taken from Tihar Jail to DDU Hospital for post mortem at around 8:20 am. Photo/ANI/
Bodies of all four Nirbhaya convicts taken to hospital for post mortem
Bodies of the four Nirbhaya convicts who were hanged on Friday morning at Tihar Jail have been sent to hospital for a post-mortem, following which it will be handed over to the families, according to an official. After the hanging at 5:30 am today, the bodies were taken from Tihar Jail to Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Hospital for post mortem at around 8:20 am.
Tihar jail Director-General Sandeep Goel said that the bodies will be handed over to the families after the post mortem. The families, however, will have to give a written undertaking that they will not make a public demonstration of the cremation or burial of the executed person. The superintendent will also consult the District Magistrate and the Deputy Commissioner of Police for arrangements for the disposal of the body.
The post mortem comes in line with the Supreme Court’s order in Shatrughan Chauhan’s case in January 2014, which had mandated the same observing that there is a dearth of experienced hangman in the country. “By making the performance of post mortem obligatory, the cause of the death of the convict can be found out, which will reveal whether the person died as a result of the dislocation of the cervical vertebrate or by strangulation which results on account of too long a drop,” the apex court had said in its order. “Our constitution permits the execution of death sentence only through the procedure established by law and this procedure must be just, fair and reasonable,” the order added.
All four convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case — Akshay Singh Thakur, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma, and Mukesh Singh — were hanged till death at 5:30 am this morning. The case pertains to the brutal gang-rape and killing of a 23-year-old paramedical student in a moving bus on the night of December 16, 2012, by six people including a juvenile in the national capital. The woman had died at a Singapore hospital a few days later. One of the adults accused had allegedly committed suicide in the prison during the trial, while the juvenile was released from a correction home after a period of three years.
As the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya case were hanged in Tihar Jail here, Nirbhaya ‘s father Badrinath Singh said that this day is for all the women of the country. “Not just Nirbhaya , it is a day for all women of the country… Today, all people will say that they are happy as Nirbhaya has got justice. Our lawyers stood with us all the time.
In the end, we won because we were just,” Badrinath Singh told media here. Nirbhaya ‘s mother Asha Devi said that she will appeal to the Supreme Court to make guidelines so that the delay tactics used in her daughter’s case are not repeated in future. “We will appeal to the Supreme Court to lay down guidelines so that the delay tactics used in Nirbhaya’s case are not repeated in other cases.
The process of availing legal remedies by death row convicts should be time-bound,” Asha Devi told media here. “In cases of more than on convicts, they should be allowed to only file their curative petition and mercy pleas etc together and not separately,” she added. She further said, “Today, I can say that I am proud of my daughter that because of her people know me as Nirbhaya ‘s mother. If she would have been present today, then I would have been known as a doctor’s mother, but now I am known as Nirbhaya ‘s mother… My dharma as a mother has been fulfilled today.” (ANI)
Nirbhaya convicts spend restless night, one refuses breakfast before hanging
The four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case spent a restless and sleepless night before they were hanged to death early Friday morning at Tihar Jail here, authorities said. Till late on Thursday night the convicts were hanging on to a glimmer of hope that their last plea would be heard in court. However, a last hour hearing in the Supreme Court and midnight hearing in Delhi High Court, both refused to stay the execution.
All four were asked to go to sleep early Thursday night ahead of their execution but they remained wide awake till late. They were asked to take a bath but none of them did. All of them were served their last meal but one of them refused breakfast before being taken to the gallows, an official said.
According to officials, the convicts even started to behave hysterically and misbehaved with the police personnel keeping an eye on them. Prior to the hanging , the execution er, who woke up at around 4 am held a meeting with prison authorities. The executioner had already inspected the gallows the night before. The convicts were escorted to the scaffold with their faces covered in black cloth and the execution er put the noose around the neck one by one. At the scheduled time, the jail superintendent waved his hand to signal the hangings, which were then conducted simultaneously.
Their bodies were kept hanging for 30 minutes as per the protocol in Delhi Prison Rule, following which a doctor declared them dead. The bodies will be disposed of as per their religion. Meanwhile, outside the jail people had gathered ahead of the execution and after chants to the countdown celebrated the hanging s by distributing sweets.
During the seven years of incarceration, Vinay Sharma received 11 punishments for not following rules. The other convicts Pawan Gupta got 8, Akshay Singh Thakur got 1 and Mukesh Singh, 3.
During their term in prison, they had also earned labour wages. Vinay got Rs 39,000, Pawan was paid Rs 29,000 and Akshay earned Rs 69,000. Mukesh Singh, on the other hand, refused to engage in any labor work during his time in prison. Vinay had earlier in February attempted to hurt himself by banging his head against a wall in his cell.
The Supreme Court even denied permission for Akshay’s eight-year-old son to meet him ahead of the execution saying it is better for the child not to see this.
The case pertains to the brutal gang-rape and killing of a 23-year-old paramedical student in a moving bus on the night of December 16, 2012, by six people including a juvenile in the national capital. The woman had died at a Singapore hospital a few days later. One of the adults accused had allegedly committed suicide in the prison during the trial, while the juvenile was released from a correction home after a period of three years.
An example has been set today: NCW chief Rekha Sharma on Nirbhaya convicts’ hanging
Welcoming the hanging of the four Nirbhaya gang-rape convicts, National Commission for Women (NCW ) chairperson Rekha Sharma on Friday said that an example has been set. “An example has been set today though it could have been done earlier. Now people know that they will be punished, you may extend the date but you will get punished,” Rekha Sharma told ANI. The four convicts in the Nirbhaya case were hanged to death at 5:30 a.m. in Delhi’s Tihar jail on Friday. Hanging was carried out as per schedule at 5:30 a.m. after a three-judge Supreme Court bench rejected the final plea by the convicts’ lawyer AP Singh to stay their execution in a late-night hearing. The four convicts, along with two others including Ram Singh and a juvenile, had raped and brutally tortured a 23-year-old paramedic student on a moving bus in south Delhi on the night of December 16, 2012. The victim died a few days later after battling for life at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital and later at a Singapore hospital. (ANI)
Nirbhaya’s soul must have found peace today: Swati Maliwal
Delhi Commission for Women (DCW ) Chairperson Swati Maliwal on Friday said that it is a historic day today as Nirbhaya has got justice after over seven years. The four convicts in the Nirbhaya case were hanged to death at 5:30 a.m. in Delhi ‘s Tihar jail on Friday. Speaking to ANI, Maliwal said, “It is a historic day, Nirbhaya got justice after over seven years. Her soul must have found peace today. The country has given a strong message to rapists that those who commit this crime will be hanged.” (ANI)
