Nirbhaya case convicts refused breakfast, had no last wish: Tihar Jail DG

NEW DELHI: The four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case did not express any last wishes before being hanged in the wee hours of Friday (March 20, 2020), Sandeep Goel, the Director General of Tihar Jail, where the executions took place, said.

The convicts also refused to take breakfast before their hanging, he said. 

Hours before their execution, the four convicts - Mukesh Singh, Pawan Gupta, Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma - cried inconsolably inside their respective jail cells, according to reports from Delhi's Tihar Jail. 

The four convicts were closely monitored by the Tihar jail administration and orders were issued to keep an eye out for the convicts trying to create some sort of drama or distraction and maybe even attempts to commit suicide. 

All four convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape case - Mukesh Singh, Akshay Thakur, Pawan Gupta and Vinay Sharma - were hanged amid unprecedented security at Delhi's Tihar jail.

Goel confirmed that the four convicts - Vinay, Akshay, Mukesh and Pawan - were hanged together at 5.30 AM. They were declared dead at 6.10 AM.

"I am feeling satisfied as my daughter got justice today," Nirbhaya`s mother Asha Devi said after the news of the executions broke out.

Following the hangings, the executioner Pawan Jallad stated, "I am feeling happy after hanging the four convicts. I had waited for this moment for a long time."

With this, justice has finally been imparted to India`s daughter, ''Nirbhaya''. Pursuant to the hangings, a crowd burst into celebrations and began cheering outside the jail premises, undeterred by the coronavirus scare.

Slogans of "Nirbhaya Zindabad" were raised alongside posters reading "Thanks to Judiciary" while some unfurled the tricolour.

"As soon as the news broke that the convicts have been hanged, we hit the roads with the tricolour to extend our tributes to Nirbhaya," Meena Sharma, a local resident, said while waving a flag.

Over the years, the convicts adopted several manoeuvres to delay the hanging and even succeeded thrice. This time, however, they could not escape the clutches of the judiciary.

"This is a big day in the history of the nation. The hangings will send a message to the world that such acts should not be committed," said social activist Yogita Bhayana, who has been associated with the case since its beginning.