Hours before the execution of the four death row convicts in the December 16, 2012, gangrape-murder case, Tihar Jail officials tested the hanging equipment by carrying out dummy executions. The convicts — Mukesh Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31) — will be hanged at 5.30 am on Friday inside Jail No 4 at Tihar. The last execution in Tihar took place seven years ago, when Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru was hanged. Tihar Director-General Sandeep Goel said this is the first time that four men will be hanged together in the jail. December 16 gangrape case LIVE updates: HC dismisses midnight plea As part of preparations, Pawan Jallad, the hangman from Meerut, reported at Tihar on Tuesday and conducted dummy executions using wheat bags and ropes. Dummy runs are conducted to test the equipment as well as ropes brought from stores in UP. The wheat bags are filled with sand and hanged to test the strength of the rope. The last dummy run was conducted Thursday evening. According to the Delhi Prisons Rules 2018, the jail superintendent, deputy superintendent, medical officer in charge, resident medical officer and the district magistrate or additional district magistrate should be present inside the gallows at the time of the execution. Prior to this, they will meet each convict inside his cell in the morning. Along with prison guards, more than 15 guards have been appointed for the execution. For this purpose, a few prison guards have been called in from Mandoli. A team of guards, including police constables, head constables and wardens, will also be present at the time of the execution. The jail manual also states that a priest may be allowed, if a prisoner wants him. DG Goel said family members of the convicts will not be allowed inside the jail. Unlike Guru’s hanging, where the body was buried inside the jail, families of the convicts can write to the officials to get their bodies to perform final rites. Before the execution, a doctor prepares a medical report specifying details of how each convict should be hanged based on their weight. On Friday morning, the prisoners will be guided to the gallows with cotton caps covering their heads. The wardens will position the four convicts on the gallows and the hangman will execute them. After the execution, the deaths will be confirmed by medical officers. DG Goel said a post-mortem will be conducted, after which the bodies will be cremated.
