TIME SEEMS to be running out for three prisoners who have been awarded the death penalty and whose mercy appeals are pending with the President.
One of them was supposed to be executed on Monday.
Already, the director general, Prisons, has made queries about the condition of the Meerut gallows.
This is seen to be part of the preparation for the execution. Courts awarded capital punishment to Satish of Meerut, Raju of Dehradun and Sanjay of Bulandshahr for their involvement in heinous crimes.
Satish raped and murdered a five-year old-girl in Sardhana area of Meerut, while Raju was convicted of eliminating a family in Dehradun. These two have been kept in separate cells of Meerut jail. Sanjay was convicted of rape and murder in Bulandshahar. He is in Agra Jail.
Sanjay’s family members fought his case from lower courts to the apex court, but failed to get any relief. The courts refused to convert his death penalty into life imprisonment. The court fixed September 11 for execution of the punishment.
Thus, senior officials asked jail authorities to inspect the gallows and to submit a status report. Meerut jail superintendent Yadvendra Shukla admitted to sending a status report of the gallows to the director general’s office in Lucknow.
{{/usCountry}}Thus, senior officials asked jail authorities to inspect the gallows and to submit a status report. Meerut jail superintendent Yadvendra Shukla admitted to sending a status report of the gallows to the director general’s office in Lucknow.
{{/usCountry}}“They ( senior officials) asked me to send a report after an inspection and I did that,” he said elaborating that gallows were found in good condition. In fact, the gallows inside the jail were recently renovated.
Sanjay’s family members lost hope for his life when they came to know about the queries of senior officials.
Meanwhile, jail authorities said they had not received any order from the higher authorities for execution of the task, nor was the President’s decision on the mercy appeal communicated to them.