Convicted for the goriest of sexual assaults on a 14-year-old girl, Dhananjoy Chatterjee was hanged on his 41st birthday on August 14, 2004.
Chatterjee, whose mercy plea was rejected on August 4, was kept at Alipore for nearly 14 years. The execution was scheduled on June 25, but it was stayed after his family petitioned the Supreme Court, and a filed mercy plea with President. Later, Dhananjoy’s family refused to either attend the execution or claim his body.
Meanwhile, in an unceasing debate, Dhananjoy’s execution became a media event. News channels kept showing the length and breadth of the rope to be used in hanging Dhananjoy. They also broadcasted the hanging sequence through animated graphics.
Till the eleventh hour, television channels continued to debate the pros and cons of Dhananjoy's execution.
Thanks to the ugly controversy, the principal of the school in Kolkata in which Hetal Parekh studied and the hangman Nata Mullick became recognizable faces throughout the country.
Fortunately, unlike US, the Indian Govt didn’t decide to broadcast the execution live on TV.