Dummy execution of four convicts in Nirbhaya case performed in Tihar

NEW DELHI: A dummy execution of the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape case was performed at Tihar Jail on Sunday, prison officials said.

A Delhi court had pronounced on Tuesday that the convicts -- Mukesh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31) -- will be hanged on January 22 at 7 am in the Tihar Jail.

A team of prison officials performed dummy execution of the four convicts. The dummies were created using sacks filled with debris and stones as per the weight of the convicts, a senior jail official said.

The execution will take place on in Jail No 3, he said, adding that the UP Prison authority has confirmed that Pawan Jallad from Meerut will be sent to hang the four convicts.

The Tihar authorities had written to the Uttar Pradesh prison authorities, seeking the services of two hangmen from the state to the execution.

All the four convicts are likely to hang simultaneously.

The jail authorities were also holding conversations with the convicts on a daily basis to ensure that they were in a good mental state, the official said.