Nirbhaya case: Tihar jail says 'Have no hangman' as convict asks for mercy plea withdrawal

With the recent national outrage over the Hyderabad gangrape and the Unnao rape victim attack, the demand for speedy hanging of the convicts of the Nirbhaya rape case has been rising. Amid this demand, Tihar Jail officials have reiterated that they currently do not have a hangman. Officials added that they will procure one from another state when needed.

Tihar Jail has no hangman

Convict in Nirbhaya case petitions the President seeking withdrawal of mercy plea

Nirbhaya case mercy petition

Currently, one of the convicts in the Nirbhaya rape case - Vinay Sharma, is seeking a withdrawal of the mercy petition which was sent to the President by Union Home Ministry, saying that it wasn't signed and authorized by him. Previously, the Union Ministry and the Delhi government had recommended rejecting his mercy petition. All four convicts in the Nirbhaya case are lodged in India's biggest jail - Tihar.

Watch: Delhi Government Recommends Rejection Of Mercy Plea Of Nirbhaya Case Convicts

Why India has a lack of hangmen?

Meanwhile, India's last official hangman was Nata Mallick - who executed the hanging of Dhananjay Chatterjee in 2004 at Alipur Central jail, as per reports. Reports state that while Mallick has seen over a hundred men sent to the death row, he has hanged only one - Dhannajay Chatterjee. Chatterjee who never confessed to raping and murdering a teenage girl was hanged in 2004 after his mercy petition was rejected by former president A.P.J Abdul Kalam.

Since India has witnessed only four executions in this century, India's biggest prison has never officially appointed a hangman. The need for a hangman was necessitated only in 2012 when then-President  Pranab Mukherjee had rejected the mercy plea of 26/11 mastermind Ajmal Kasab. While Tihar jail sent for a job vacancy for a hangman, no one applied. 

Read: Nirbhaya Rape And Murder Case: MHA Forwards Mercy Petition Of Convict To President

Soon, one of India's few registered hangmen - Pawan Kumar applied to be Tihar's next hangman. While there have been three executions since 2011- Kumar is still waiting for his first execution. Kasab's execution which was done on November 2012, was carried out by a police constable in the Pune's Yerwada jail.

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Similarly in 2013, when the 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru's mercy plea was rejected by former President Pranab Mukherjee, there was a need for a hangman. But as the government decided to conduct his hanging in secrecy, the identity of the hangman is unknown. He was hanged on 9 February 2013 at Tihar jail. Meanwhile, the same constable who hanged Ajmal Kasab was tapped to hang 1993 Bombay blast convict Yakub Memon at Nagpur Central jail on 30 July 2015.