Nirbhaya Case: Convict Vinay Sharma On Hunger Strike in Tihar Jail After Exhausting All Legal Options
Vinay, 26, was among the five men slapped with death penalty for gangraping and committing acts of bestiality on a woman inside a moving bus in Delhi on the night of December 16, 2012. The 23-year-old convict had succumbed to the sexual assault injuries. One of the convicts - Ram Singh - had committed suicide by hanging himself inside the Tihar Jail.
New Delhi, February 17: One of the four convicts in Nirbhaya gangrape-murder case, Vinay Sharma, is on a hunger strike in Tihar Jail after exhausting all his legal remedies. The information was released as part of the status report released by the Tihar authorities on Monday. The indefinite fast was begun by him last week, after the Supreme Court rejected his plea challenging the rejection of mercy petition by President Ram Nath Kovind.
Vinay, 26, was among the five men slapped with death penalty for gangraping and committing acts of bestiality on a woman inside a moving bus in Delhi on the night of December 16, 2012. The 23-year-old convict had succumbed to the sexual assault injuries. One of the convicts - Ram Singh - had committed suicide by hanging himself inside the Tihar Jail. Nirbhaya Case: New Death Warrant Issued, All Four Convicts to be Hanged at 6 AM on March 3, 2020 in Delhi's Tihar Jail.
The death penalty of four others was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2017. As their execution neared, the convicts began filing curative pleas to challenge the apex court order. This was followed by a mercy petition to the President. Two among the convicts also unsuccessfully challenged the rejection of their mercy plea by the President.
Vinay, in his petition against the President's decision, said India's constitutional head should had factored on the mental trauma he suffered after being lodged in the Tihar Jail. The convict's counsel had told the court that Vinay was tortured after being arrested in the Nirbhaya case. The assault inside the jail premises turned him mentally ill.
The petition was, however, rejected by the top court after the government produced a medical report, dated February 12, which showed that Vinay was mentally sound. With the rejection of his plea, the decks were cleared for his execution in the heinous gangrape-murder case, which had shook the nation's conscience.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 17, 2020 05:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).