Tihar Jail asks UP for two hangmen, speculation over Nirbhaya killers' execution
Lucknow: The Tihar Jail in Delhi has asked Uttar Pradesh to provide two hangmen on short notice, amid reports that four men convicted in the Nirbhaya rape-and-murder case may be executed soon.
Uttar Pradesh's Additional Director General (Prisons) Anand Kumar told reporters on Thursday that the department is ready to provide the hangmen.
"There are no hangmen with the Tihar Jail administration for those who were awarded capital punishment and are not left with any constitutional and legal remedy," Kumar said.
"As they were aware that we have two hangmen in UP, they asked us to provide them whenever needed on short notice," the ADG (Prisons) added.
The prisons department had received a request in this regard from the Tihar administration through fax on December 9. The letter, however, makes no mention of the convicts to be hanged but states there may be requirements.
The letter, according to sources, mentioned that some convicts in the jail were awarded capital punishment and their legal and constitutional remedies had been exhausted.
The four convicts in the Nirbhaya case -- Pawan Gupta, Akshay Thakur, Mukesh Singh and Vinay Sharma -- are on death row for two years.
The UP prison administration has two hangmen on its rolls, one in Lucknow and another in Meerut.
Six people were convicted for brutally raping and murdering a 23-year-old paramedical student in a moving bus while she was on her way back home on December 16, 2012.
She died from her injuries but the brutal gang rape sparked a nationwide fury that led to a new legislation to deal with such heinous crimes.
Of the six people convicted in the case, one was a minor, who was sent to a rehabilitation centre, and another, Ram Singh, committed suicide in the Tihar Jail.
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Allen, Raghuvanshi, Green power KKR to 29-run win over GT
Kolkata (PTI): Finn Allen blasted a 35-ball 93, while Angkrish Raghuvanshi hit an unbeaten 44-ball 82 as Kolkata Knight Riders kept their playoff hopes alive with a 29-run win over Gujarat Titans in the IPL match here on Saturday.
Sent in to bat, Allen went on a six-hitting spree, smashing 10 maximums and four boundaries to add 95 off 41 balls with Raghuvanshi (82).
Raghuvanshi then shared another 108 off 53 balls with Cameron Green (52 not out) to power KKR to a challenging 247 for 2.
In reply, GT could manage 218-4, riding on skipper Shubman Gill's 49-ball 85 and a 35-ball 57 from Jos Buttler. Opener Sai Sudarsan was retired hurt but returned to make a 28-ball 53 not out.
Sunil Narine (2/29) claimed two wickets and Saurabh Dubey snapped one for KKR.
For GT, Mohammed Siraj (1/50), Sai Kishore (1/38) were the wicket-takers.
Brief Score:
KKR: 247 for 2 in 20 overs (Finn Allen 93, Angkrish Raghuvanshi 82 not out, Camero Green 52 not out; Mohammed Siraj 1/50).
GT: 218 for 4 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 85, Sunil Narine 2/29).
