Delhi jail struggles to find a good hangman
Convicting a terrorist in India is difficult but finding a man to hang him is even harder.
New Delhi's Tihar Jail, where Mohammed Afzal is held for his role in the terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001, is in a quandary. On October 20, Afzal must hang. But there is no hangman.
The last time an execution took place in New Delhi, it was the assassins of former prime minister Indira Gandhi, who were hanged in 1989. Nationwide, it has been more than a decade since anyone else has been executed.
Anxious that it might fail to carry out the execution order on Afzal, Tihar Jail has made a nationwide plea, asking jails to spare a hangman if they have one.
'There are only four or five hangmen in the country. Big states like Uttar Pradesh and Punjab have them for their prisons. We are trying to arrange for two or three of these men to come to Delhi to help us out. The extras are kept as standbys,' jail spokesman Sunil Gupta said.
If no one turns up, Tihar has two options. It can ask one of its officials to multitask, or drag an old, experienced executioner out of retirement. Nata Mullick has 24 executions under his belt. But Mr Mullick is 84 and jail officials fear his hand might be unsteady.
The ordeal might be put off altogether if Afzal's family succeeds in their appeal to President Abdul Kalam for clemency. The demand for clemency has much support in the troubled state of Kashmir, where Afzal comes from.
Protesters have been marching in the streets, warning New Delhi that if it executes Afzal, there will be a tidal wave of anger in Kashmir.
In the trial, Afzal emerged as the central figure in the conspiracy and was convicted of providing shelter to the terrorists and helping execute the attack.
