New Delhi: A day before their scheduled execution at Tihar Jail, the four Nirbhaya convicts were anxious. They were eager to know about the plea filed for stay on hanging.

Jail Officers kept an extra vigil on the convicts to ensure they don’t hurt themselves. All the staff, including the hangman, were counselled and their phones confiscated. The convicts were also counselled. An excerpt from the Gita was read out to them and they were told about karma.

“Pawan broke down after this and asked for forgiveness, while Mukesh kept on claiming that he was suffering for something he had not done. Akshay said he had reformed himself and wanted to do something good for the society. Vinay was hopeful that the hanging would be stalled at the last moment,” a Jail Officer said.

All four convicts were asked to go to sleep early Thursday night ahead of their execution but they remained wide awake till late. They were asked to take a bath but none of them did. All of them were served their last meal but one of them refused breakfast before being taken to the gallows, an official said. Mukesh Singh wished to donate his organs and had given it in writing to the authorities last night. 

According to officials, the convicts even started to behave hysterically and misbehaved with the Police. The convicts were escorted to the scaffold with their faces covered in black cloth and the executioner, Pavan Jallad, put the noose around the neck one by one. At the scheduled time, the Jail Superintendent waved his hand to signal the hangings, which were then conducted simultaneously as the executioner pulled the lever.

Their bodies were kept hanging for 30 minutes as per the protocol in Delhi Prison Rule, following which a doctor declared them dead. After the post-mortem, the bodies were handed over to family members after an undertaking was taken from them that they will not resort to public display of bodies.