Wanted: A man to hang Qasab By: Ketan Ranga and Shiva Devnath 2010-05-06 There is not a single hangman left in the country, say jail sources Across India MADHYA PRADESH: Balkrishna Valekar had expressed a desire to hang Afzal Guru who has been condemned to death for the Parliament attack. But Valekar died in 2009 at the age of 82. He had a record of 11 hangings. NEW DELHI: Tihar Central Jail in New Delhi is also scouting for a hangman. The last hanging was in 1989. Satwant and Kehar Singh, convicted in the Indira Gandhi assassination case, were hanged by Kallu and Fakira. There are no gallows now. The number of pending death sentences is on the rise. Kallu and Fakira are not traceable after their last execution, a fact confirmed by the jail spokesperson. UTTAR PRADESH: Kallu's son Mammu Singh worked as a hangman at Meerut Central Prison. He had hanged 10 convicts and his last execution was in 1997. In 2001, Singh was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police for defaulting on loan payments. When he emerged from prison, he got back his job as hangman. Now, he too has retired. Mammu Singh's old colleague, Mohammed Ahmed who lives in Lucknow, used to be a hangman. However, he is not available now after he resolved not to hang anyone any more. BIHAR: There is no post of a hangman in Bihar since 1995. The Bhagalpur Central Jail, where convicts are hanged, have requisitioned for a hangman. HARYANA: The Haryana Subordinate Services Commission had also advertised for a hangman following a requisition sent by the state's prisons department. This was after their hangman Vijay Singh died in 2005.
Who will hang Ajmal Amir Qasab if the special court awards him the death sentence today? That's the hushed whisper in the corridors of Mantralaya and the jail premises. MiD DAY has learnt that there is not a single hangman in the country, let alone in the state.
The special court that declared Qasab guilty on Monday will award him the sentence today.
In Maharashtra, the Yerwada Central Jail in Pune and the Nagpur Central Jail are the only prisons where convicts are hanged. Jail sources said that if Qasab is awarded the death rap he may be hanged in Pune.
Qasab, twelfth man
"In Pune, there are already 11 convicts who have been given the death sentence, but are still awaiting execution," said sources in the prison department which falls under the state home ministry.
The President has already turned down the mercy petitions of these convicts.
The state's last hangman, identified only as Jadhav, retired in 1995 from the Yerwada prison but has not been replaced so far.
"Even Maharashtra has sought executioners from other states, but no one has ever responded," said jail sources. "Almost all hangmen in the country have either died or have retired and their kin do not seem interested in continuing with the profession," he added.
Last hanging
The last hanging in India was conducted in 2004. Child rapist Dhananjoy Chatterjee was executed by the 87-year old hangman, Nata Mullick, in West Bengal. Mullick, whose father Shibal, was a hangman during the British colonial days, died in December 2009 after having carried out 25 hangings. Mullick passed on his wisdom to his grandson, Prabhat, but he is too young for the job. He looks after the cleaning job at the Alipore Central Jail in Kolkata.
So, West Bengal, where the nation's last hanging has taken place, is also without a hangman.
Do you have it?
>>A hangman's job is reserved for men and the only qualification required is that he should be an adult, over 5 feet 4 inches tall.
>>The job demands mental strength and unwavering focus. It is not for the faint-hearted.
>>A hangman cannot have second thoughts before 'executing' his job.
>>Jail manuals indicate that in the absence of a hangman, the jail superintendent has the powers to carry out a hanging.
1156, the number of convicts who are on death row in India
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