What Were The Last Wishes Of Yakub Memon, Afzal Guru, Ajmal Kasab And Dhananjoy Chatterjee

A Delhi court on Tuesday issued death warrants against four convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case. The order was pronounced by Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora who issued the death warrants against the four death row convicts - Mukesh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31). According to the order, they will be hanged on January 22 at 7 am in Tihar jail. The convicts still have some legal options like mercy plea or curative petition.

If executed, this will be the first judicial execution in this decade. A total of twenty-six executions have taken place in India since 1991, the most recent of which was in 2015.

India has seen fourth death penalities in the 21st century so far. Dhananjoy Chatterjee, Ajmal Kasab, Afzal Guru and Yakub Memon have hanged till death since 2004.     

Dhananjoy Chatterjee

Dhananjoy Chatterjee had asked for religious songs to be played when he was led to the gallows. Jail authorities fulfilled this wish and played Anup Jalota songs, according to reports. He was always given curd and sweets to eat before his death. However, his other final wish could not be granted. Chaterjee had also wished for his organs to be donated. However, jail authorities could not fulfill this wish. 

Ajmal Kasab

Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, convicted in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks was hanged on 21 November 2012 at Yerwada jail in Pune, had no last wish and left no will. He only asked, say sources, that his mother be informed in Pakistan. In keeping with jail manual processes, Kasab was offered contact with his family and the drawing up of a will, but he refused all of it.

Afzal Guru

2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru was hanged on 9 February 2013 in Tihar jail. He had expressed his wish to write to his wife. The jail superintendent gave him a pen and paper. Guru performed his morning prayers and read a few pages of the Quran. The only thing he requested before the hanging was that ‘mujhay ummeed hai aap mujhay dard nahin karaogay’ (I hope you will not cause me pain). He was assured by the executione that it would be a smooth journey.

Yakub Memon

Yakub Memon, awarded death penalty in the Mumbai serial blasts case, was executed on July 27, 2003. Just before his execution, Yakub Memon expressed his desire to talk to his daughter Zubeida. The jail administration however arranged for a telephonic conversation with his daughter but he could not see her.