Delhi police officials kept low profile in maoist-hit Bihar village to arrest one of Nirbhaya accused

PTI | Mar 20, 2020, 01.45 PM IST

NEW DELHI: Arresting the accused in the Nirbhaya case was not easy for Delhi police investigators, who had to visit a maoist-affected village in Bihar and keep a low profile to nab one of them.

Akshay Kumar Singh, the cleaner of the bus in which the 23-year-old physiotherapy intern was gangraped, had left for his native village in Aurangabad district after committing the ghastly crime.

The police traced Singh through a mobile number Ram Singh, the driver of the bus and the first accused to be arrested in the 2012 case, shared with the investigators during interrogation.

Singh had used the phone number to speak to his family back home and it was registered with a service provider in Aurangabad, according to "Khaki Files", a book by former Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar during whose tenure the crime happened.

This breakthrough led the police to believe Singh could be hiding in his village. Delhi police inspector Rituraj and his team rushed to Patna by flight and took the road from there to reach Aurangabad.

On December 19, 2012, three days after the gang rape, the Delhi police team contacted the Tandwa police station under whose jurisdiction Singh's village fell.

The Delhi police team then learnt that the village area was affected by Left-wing extremism and the team members were required to tread cautiously without drawing undue attention, Rituraj said.

"The police station in Tandwa had been attacked four times by naxals and was therefore heavily fortified with personnel from Bihar Military Police deployed on its rooftop, armed with light machine guns," according to the book.

Sub-inspector Ajay Kumar from the local police station joined the Delhi police team and they decided to quietly recce Singh's village. Local intelligence gathering suggested that Singh could have escaped to his in-laws' residence, also in a naxal-infested area.

Inspector Rituraj's team decided to wait and sought help from watchmen in Singh's village in nabbing him. Soon enough the wait paid off. One of the chowkidars spotted the accused at Tandwa railway station on December 21 and alerted the police who arrested Singh.

Rituraj contacted the district magistrate to obtain a transit remand and he introduced the Delhi police official to the district judge. The judge took Rituraj to his residence, called his staff and dictated the order.

It was 9pm on December 21 when the police received the transit remand but Rituraj left for Varanasi the same night in dense fog and low visibility with the accused and his team.

The other mother: Gloom at camp

TNN | Mar 21, 2020, 04.54 AM IST

NEW DELHI: While one mother enjoyed a long-awaited victory, another saw her world collapsing around her. Ram Bai, 80, wailed when she heard news confirming the hanging of her son Mukesh Kumar Singh on Friday morning. She had lost her other son, Ram Singh, who was found dead in jail, possibly due to suicide, a few months after the rape and murder of Nirbhaya in December 2012.

In RK Puram’s Ravidass Camp, home to the Singh brothers, Pawan Gupta and Vinay Sharma, there was a pall of gloom when the bodies arrived in the afternoon. While Gupta’s family stood on the road outside to mourn, the frail Ram Bai sat in a corner of her shanty and grieved alone.

“I was clinging to hope all these years. They could have given Mukesh a life sentence, and I could at least have heard his voice again. But they killed him,” the octogenarian sobbed. The old woman blamed the lengthy litigation for the predicament. “If they had hanged them right after the incident, we wouldn’t hurt so much. But they gave us hope all these years and I spent all the money I had on the legal process. Now he is gone and I am left with nothing. What hope do I have now?” she said.

Gupta’s sisters continued to believe in his innocence, insisting that he was at the local park at the time of the horrifying rape. “When we met him for the last time, he kept hugging us and kept pleading with us to help him,” said the elder sister. “He was innocent and yet we have lost face in society. Who will marry his younger sister now?”

Unlike the crowd at the house of Nirbhaya’s family in Dwarka, there was almost nobody at Ravidass Camp offering condolences to the bereaved families. They only had each other for company. Lawyer A P Singh was present. Gupta’s elder sister visited Ram Bai to see how she was doing. “Has anything changed for women after 2012? Nothing. And this will remain so, no matter how many people you hang,” the sister said defiantly.

In a lane, a carpet had been laid out for the women to mourn together. “Ram, Mukesh, Pawan, Akshay and Vinay were friends though our families didn’t interact with each other much,” the sister disclosed. “After the incident, however, we’ve become close because there’s no one who even looks at us, let alone talks to us or helps ease our pain.”

Gupta’s mother lost consciousness while awaiting his body. She was revived but refused to utter a word, only cried continuously through the day.

The four men — Akshay Thakur’s home is in Bihar — were hanged simultaneously at 5.30am on Friday and their bodies taken for postmortem to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital at 8.30 am. There, the gate to the mortuary was closed and paramilitary personnel posted to prevent any disturbances. Thakur’s family was the first to arrive at the mortuary, followed by the others.

Wearing a purple shirt and chappals, Vinay Sharma’s father arrived with police officers to claim his son’s body. Crying without a stop, he left the mortuary with the body for Ravidass Camp around 1.30pm. Gupta’s family followed him to their residence. The bodies of Singh and Thakur were taken, respectively, to their villages in Rajasthan and Bihar.

(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)

He learnt the ropes from his family but waited till Friday to pull lever

Mar 21, 2020, 04.50 AM IST

New Delhi: He calls himself a hangman, but Pawan Jallad of Meerut couldn’t claim any action of the sort. This embarrassing record changed on Friday when the 58-year-old pulled a lever that left four bodies hanging by the neck till death in Tihar Jail. Jallad told TOI that he had got tired of travelling to Delhi for the hangings and having the execution put off with the four remaining men convicted of raping and murdering 23-year-old Nirbhaya in 2012 taking recourse to various legal remedies since January 22. Friday, however, brought things to a conclusion.

Jallad is the third man in his family bearing that sobriquet, which means an ‘executioner’ in Hindi. He learnt the macabre art from his grandfather, Kallu Jallad, who carried out the final act in January 1989 in the case of the two assassins of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. His father, Mammu Jallad, was keen to pull the lever to end the life of Afzal Guru, the accused in the terrorist attack on Parliament, but he died nine months before the execution in February 2013. “My father hanged 12 prisoners during his 47 years of service in the prisons,” he said.

The last time the Meerut resident had the opportunity to notch up a death was four years ago when he was prepped to hang the Nithari rapist-killer Surinder Koli. He rehearsed the execution for a week, but the Supreme Court stayed the death penalty. Before leaving Meerut jail for Delhi on Tuesday, Jallad had remarked it was for the fourth time that he was going for the four men’s hanging at Tihar.

Jallad calls being an executioner a ‘noble profession’ that removes evil people from society. As a father of a daughter — he also has a son — I am happy to hang the rapists and killers of a young girl, the man says. He was hired by the Uttar Pradesh prison authority in 2013 on a stipend of Rs 3,000. But since hanging is not a daily business, he ekes out his living doing odd jobs. The Nirbhaya hangings will boost his meagre income by Rs 20,000 for each condemned man.

As a child, Jallad often accompanied his grandfather and father to jail, but it was only in 1983, when he was 21 years old, that he saw an execution carried out by his grandfather in Agra jail. Three years later, he assisted his father with a hanging for the first time. The last time he was close to the scene of action was in 1992, again aiding his father at Patiala jail.

Friday was to be his first independent execution. But Jallad had to be assisted by a jail official because of the weight of the lever. Jallad doesn’t want his children carrying on the tradition, though. He said: “Most of the hangmen in India belong to families where the men have been executioners. But I don’t want my children to follow in my footsteps.” Is it about being the final cog in a legal system that ends a human being’s life? He shrugs, “Hangings are rare and so the job isn’t paying enough for survival in these times.”

Gruesome crime that made rape punishable by death

Mar 21, 2020, 04.56 AM IST

New Delhi: Death penalty for rapists who brutalise their victim, full trial as adults for juveniles accused of heinous offences and fast-track courts for speedy trial in sexual assault cases — these are some of the far-reaching changes made in the country’s criminal law following a unprecedented public outrage over the horrific gang rape of Nirbhaya on December 16, 2012.

As protesters took to the street on rising crimes against women, the Centre set up a three-member committee under former Chief Justice of India J S Verma to propose changes in law to curb sexual offences. Accepting some of the recommendations, the government tightened laws dealing with sexual offences against women and brought in the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 that provided a rigorous life term and a death term for rape convicts.

Till the Nirbhaya incident happened, offences such as acid attacks, stalking and voyeurism were seen as lesser crimes, but the amendments included stringent punishments even for these. For the first time, stalking and voyeurism were made non-bailable offences if repeated for a second time, while perpetrators of acid attacks now attract a 10-year jail.

The new law expanded the definition of rape and made it a graded offence. A minimum jail term of seven years may now be extend to imprisonment for natural life and a fine for rapist if he is found to be a police officer, public servant, armed forces personnel or management or hospital staff.

Similarly, it also changed various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure, Indian Evidence Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, and provided for handing out death sentence to serial offenders.

The stringent amendments, which came into force on April 3, 2013, altered the definition of rape under IPC 375 and introduced harsher penalty in line with the gravity of offence.

Although the committee had opposed death penalty for rapists and advised life term, the government brought in a new section, 376A, to IPC that introduced death penalty. Under it, if an offender committing sexual assault inflicts an injury that causes death of the victim or renders her into a persistent vegetative state, the convict will be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term that will not be less than 20 years, which may extend to life imprisonment meaning the remainder of a convict’s natural life, or death.

All hospitals now also face punishment if they fail to immediately provide first aid and/or medical treatment free of cost to the survivors of acid attack or rape.

Despite calls for tightening the juvenile offender laws, the committee, in its 630-page report, didn’t suggest any change in minimum age but Parliament in 2015 introduced the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, allowing the courts to try juveniles involved in heinous offences as adults.

Following the report, issued on January 23, 2013, the age of consent was made uniform. However, instead of the suggested 16 years, the government fixed it at 18, which means any sexual activity, irrespective of consent, with a woman below the age of 18 is statutory rape as she is a minor.

Before end came: Sleepless night, cries for forgiveness

TNN | Mar 21, 2020, 04.41 AM IST

NEW DELHI: The Nirbhaya case convicts – Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur and Pawan Gupta – had a sleepless night. When the clock struck 3.30am on Friday, they were taken out of their solitary cells in jail number 3 to be prepared for execution.

The quartet kept asking whether a new order had been passed by any court across the country. Through the night, Gupta kept asking for forgiveness from the jailers pleading to let him go, while Singh withdrew into himself.

On Thursday night, Singh and Sharma had rice, dal and vegetables for dinner, while Thakur had a cup of tea. They were offered breakfast, but they refused. They didn’t take a bath and refused to wear the clothes given by the jail authorities.

Around 4.30am, district magistrate Neha Bansal read them the order to execute the death sentence. She met them individually to ask for their last wish. Sources said Gupta and Thakur didn’t say anything, while Singh gave a written note to the DM asking to donate his organs. Sharma requested that his ‘paintings’ be given to the jail superintendent and his copy of Hanuman Chalisa and an image of God to his parents.

A medical examination was conducted during which the jail doctors measured their weight and checked their vitals to declare them fit for hanging. In the meanwhile, the hangman, Pawan Jallad, prepared the nooses made with manila ropes and softened with bananas and butter.

After the DM’s visit, the convicts were allowed to remain alone for some time to remember their family and loved ones. Jail officials then went to their cells and asked them to wear white cotton clothes. This time, Sharma broke down and pleaded with the jail officials to let him go. He refused to wear the clothes. Singh, Gupta and Thakur asked the officials to allow them to meet Sharma, but their request was rejected.

A team of jail officials, including the superintendent, deputy superintendent, wardens and Tamil Nadu special police officers, helped the convicts wear the clothes and then each of them were escorted by six security personnel to the hanging well.

Sources said Sharma refused to accompany the jail staffers and lay down outside his cell. He had to be carried by the wardens into the well. Before entering the well, their faces were covered with a black cloth so that they didn’t get a glimpse of the gallows.

The jail authorities had requisitioned for armed guards from Delhi Police to be present near the gallows. The condemned men were walked to the platform where the hangman placed the noose around their neck. The men kept resisting till the noose was tightened.

At 5.30am, the superintendent signalled the hangman to pull the two levers holding the plate under their feet. The four men were suspended into the pit and became still after squirming for a short while, jail sources said. They were left in the position till 6am after which a doctor entered the well to confirm that they had died.

The bodies were removed and kept in the jail premises. Around 8am, the bodies were taken in four separate ambulances for autopsy at DDU Hospital. The family members were allowed to take the bodies after they gave a declaration that they would not hold protest marches. While the hangings were going on, the other prisoners at Tihar Jail were under lockdown. Instead of the usual time of 6.30am, they were allowed to start their daily routine half an hour late.

(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)

Janata Curfew to combat Covid-19: Southern Railway to cancel many trains

Mar 20, 2020, 09.52 PM IST

CHENNAI: Southern Railway will not operate passenger trains and will cancel many of express trains on Sunday as its expects a drastic drop in passenger patronage because of “Janata Curfew.”

Suburban train services in Chennai will be reduced to the bare minimum to cater to essential travel.

All passenger trains originating between midnight on March 21 and 10pm of March 22 will not be operated.

There would be a largescale cancellation of long distance express trains and intercity trains departing between 4am and 10pm on Sunday, said a press release.

Before end came: Sleepless night, plea for forgiveness

Somreet Bhattacharya & Sakshi Chand TNN

New Delhi  21.03.2020

: The Nirbhaya case convicts – Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur and Pawan Gupta – had a sleepless night. When the clock struck 3.30am on Friday, they were taken out of their solitary cells in jail number 3 to be prepared for execution.

The quartet kept asking whether a new order had been passed by any court across the country. Through the night, Pawan kept asking for forgiveness from the jailers pleading to let him go, while Mukesh withdrew into himself.

On Thursday night, Mukesh and Vinay had rice, dal and vegetables for dinner, while Akshay had a cup of tea. They were offered breakfast, but they refused. They didn’t take a bath and refused to wear the clothes given by the jail authorities.

Around 4.30am, district magistrate Neha Bansal read them the order to execute the death sentence. She met them individually to ask for their last wish. Sources said Pawan and Akshay didn’t say anything, while Mukesh gave a written note to the DM asking to donate his organs. Vinay requested that his paintings be given to the jail superintendent and his copy of Hanuman Chalisa and an image of God to his parents.

A medical examination was conducted during which the jail doctors measured their weight and checked their vitals to declare them fit for hanging. Meanwhile, the hangman, Pawan Jallad, prepared the nooses made with manila ropes and softened with bananas and butter. After the DM’s visit, the convicts were allowed to remain alone for some time to remember their family and loved ones.

Jail officials then went to their cells and asked them to wear white cotton clothes. This time, Vinay broke down and pleaded with the jail officials to let him go. He refused to wear the clothes. Mukesh, Pawan and Akshay asked the officials to allow them to meet Vinay, but their request was rejected. A team of jail officials, including the superintendent, deputy superintendent, wardens and Tamil Nadu special police officers, helped the convicts wear the clothes and then each of them were escorted by six security personnel to the hanging well.

Full report on www.toi.in

LAW PREVAILS: Ambulances carrying bodies of the convicts from Tihar Jail to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for a postmortem in New Delhi on Friday