December 16 gang rape convicts mum on their final wishes

New Delhi: Tihar jail authorities have asked the four convicts of the December 16 gang rape case to list their last wish before they are hanged on February 1. However,

New Delhi: Tihar jail authorities have asked the four convicts of the December 16 gang rape case to list their last wish before they are hanged on February 1. However, senior officials said, though the request was made by the administration last week, none of the four have responded yet.

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Additional inspector general, Delhi Prisons, Rajkumar, confirmed that the four have been asked in writing to tell authorities their last wish. “We are awaiting a reply from them. None of them have responded so far,” he said.

Each person on death row is granted a chance to request jail authorities for a final wish before they are executed.

Rajkumar said only when the four tell jail officials what their last wish is will authorities concerned take a decision on whether they can be fulfilled. “Not every wish can be fulfilled. There are certain rules. The administration will take a decision once they revert to us in writing,” the AIG said.

Officials from the jail also said the four convicts have been asked to name any person they wish to meet a final time. They have also been given time to transfer any property or belongings they own to anyone they wish, said an official who did not wish to be named.

The officer added that they have explained the process to the four men, and told them that the prison administration will help them prepare their will or meet their families.

At present, each of them is being monitored by CCTV cameras. In addition, two to three jail guards watch over them round-the-clock.

This will be the first time in the jail’s history when four death row convicts will be hanged at the same time. The execution will take place in jail number 3, where the prison’s hanging courtyard is located.

Earlier, a city court had issued a death warrant for the execution of the four convicts — Mukesh Singh, Pawan Kumar Gupta, Akshay Thakur and Vinay Sharma — to be held on January 22. However, their hanging was delayed due to filing of review, curative and mercy petitions over a period of several months. On January 17, fresh death warrants were issued by a Delhi court against the four men setting up February 1 as the date of hanging.