December 16 gangrape case: Tihar prepares to hang all four convicts on Friday morning

The last execution in Tihar took place on February 9, 2013, when Afzal Guru was hanged and buried on the prison premises for his role in the terror attack on Parliament.

This is the first time that four men will be hanged together in Tihar Jail, which houses more than 16,000 inmates, according to news agency PTI. In order to prepare for the whole exercise, a hangman from Meerut reported to the Tihar Jail administration on Tuesday.

As per Delhi Prison Rules 2018, the execution will take place in the presence of the superintendent, deputy superintendent, medical officer in charge, resident medical officer and the district magistrate or additional district magistrate. A guard with not less than 10 constables, warders and two head constables, head warders or an equal number from the prison armed guard, will also be present.

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A medical officer prepares a report four days ahead of the date of execution, mentioning the length of the drop to be given to the prisoner who is to be executed, said the manual.

The families of the convicts will not be allowed to witness the executions. All other prisoners will be kept locked till the exercise is over and the bodies removed from the prison.

According to the jail manual, the jail superintendent will oversee the testing of the ropes and also inspect the gallows a day before the execution. This will be followed by a dummy execution — a dummy or a bag of sand weighing 1.5 times the weight of the prisoner will be hanged and dropped between 1.830 and 2.440 metres to test the rope.

Two spare ropes for each prisoner sentenced to death are kept in reserve. After testing, the rope and other equipment will be locked and sealed in a steel box and kept in charge of deputy superintendent, it states.

If the prisoner wants, a priest of his faith may be allowed.

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On the morning of the execution, the prisoner will be visited by senior officials, including the superintendent, the district magistrate/additional district magistrate and the medical officer, in his cell. Any documents, including the will of the prisoner can be signed and attested in the presence of the superintendent and the district magistrate or additional district magistrate.

According to jail rules, just before entering the gallows-enclosure, a cotton cap with flap will be put on the prisoner’s face so he can’t see the gallows. The wardens will hold the prisoners and withdraw following a signal from the superintendent. After that, the hangman draws the bolt, the manual states.

The body of the executed prisoner is disposed off as per the requirements of the religion to which the executed prisoner belonged. The body will be handed over the family following a post-mortem. An ambulance shall be used for the transportation of the body to the cremation or burial ground.

The execution of the death warrants of the four convicts has been deferred thrice so far due to delays caused by the convicts trying to exhaust all legal remedies available to them. On Monday, three death row convicts moved the International Court of Justice appealing for an urgent hearing to prevent the execution. The three convicts — Vinay, Pawan, and Akshay — moved the petition through their lawyer AP Singh, calling the execution of death warrants illegal.

(With inputs from PTI)