All four convicts in Nirbhaya case shifted to Delhi's Tihar Jail, hanging likely soon

Sources told Zee Media that one of the accused Pawan Kumar Gupta, who was lodged in Mandoli jail, was shifted to Tihar, while the other three convicts in the case - Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma and Akshay - are already in Tihar.

All four convicts in Nirbhaya case shifted to Delhi's Tihar Jail, hanging likely soon

All four convicts in the Nirbhaya case have been shifted to Tihar, triggering speculation that they would be hanged soon. Sources told Zee Media that one of the accused Pawan Kumar Gupta, who was lodged in Mandoli jail, was shifted to jail number 2 of Tihar. The other three convicts in the case - Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma and Akshay - are already in Tihar.

It is to be noted that the convicts are expected to be hanged after the rejection of Vinay's mercy plea by President Ram Nath Kovind. As per rules, the convicts on death row are to be hanged 14 days after the rejection of mercy plea by President and in the meantime, the police gets death warrant for the convict. Except Vinay, no other convict in Nirbhaya case has filed mercy petition and it is highly unlikely that their mercy petitions would now be accepted by the court because they were given to file the plea but they decided against it. It is learnt that the death warrant of all four accused will be issued on the same day.

Notably, a convict is hanged 14 days after the rejection of mercy petition but it can be brought forward if the Centre and state government thinks that the wait for 14 days could create law and order issues.

Meanwhile, one of the convicts Akshay Thakur filed his review petition in Supreme Court on Monday (December 8) but sources said that it is highly unlikely that the top court would accept his plea as the SC has already rejected a similar plea filed by Vinay Kumar, Mukesh Singh and Pawan Gupta.

A total of six people were convicted of raping and murdering Nirbhaya, 23, on December 16, 2012. Nirbhaya later died of her injuries. The brutal crime led to massive protests across the country forcing the Centre to come up with new laws to deal with such heinous crimes. The six involved in this incident were arrested and convicted.