Nirbhaya Gangrape Convicts To Be Hanged On March 3 At 6 AM, Delhi's Patiala House Court Issues Fresh Death Warrants

Delhi’s Patiala House Court on Monday issued fresh death warrants against all the four death-row convicts in Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case. Additional Session Judge Dharmender Rana issued fresh warrants against death row convicts -- Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Kumar Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar (31). The convicts will be executed on March 3 at 6 am in Delhi’s Tihar Jail.

The court was hearing the pleas by Nirbhaya's parents and the Delhi government, seeking fresh death warrants for the convicts after the Supreme Court allowed the authorities to approach the trial court for issuance of fresh date for the execution of the convicts, who have been using legal recources to avoid the death sentence.

This is the third time the court has issued death warrants for their execution. The date of execution, first fixed for January 22, was postponed for 6 am on February 1 by a January 17 court order. The trial court later, on January 31, stayed, "till further orders" the execution of the four convicts, who are lodged in Tihar Jail.

Reacting to the development, Nirbhaya's mother Asha Devi said that she was satisfied with the fact that the court has finally issued death warrants and hoped the convicts will be executed this time. "I am not very happy as this is the third time that death warrant has been issued. We have struggled so much, so I am satisfied that death warrant has been issued finally. I hope they (convicts) will be executed on 3rd March," she told reporters outside the court.

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Nirbhaya Gangrape And Murder - A Case That Shook The World

The 23-year-old physiotherapy intern, who came to be known as 'Nirbhaya' (fearless), was gangraped and savagely assaulted on the night of December 16, 2012, in a moving bus in South Delhi. She died of her injuries a fortnight later in a Singapore hospital. The brutality of the crime shook the nation, leading to country-wide protests and a change in India’s rape laws.

Six people—Mukesh, Vinay, Akshay Kumar Singh, Pawan Gupta, Ram Singh and a juvenile—were named as accused. The trial of the five adult men began in a special fast-track court in March 2013. The prime accused, Ram Singh, allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in Tihar jail days after the trial began.

The juvenile, who was said to be the most brutal of the attackers, was put in a correctional home for three years. He was released in 2015 and sent to an undisclosed location amid concerns over a threat to his life. The juvenile, when released, was 20 years old. Mukesh, Vinay, Akshay and Pawan were convicted and sentenced to death in September 2013.