Nirbhaya gangrape case: Two convicts shifted to separate cell

Two of the four death row convicts in the 16 December gangrape and murder case have been shifted to a separate cell in Tihar Jail after they alleged threat from a co-prisoner, prison authorities told a Delhi court on 18 January.

The response came on a plea by two convicts Pawan Gupta and Akshay Kumar Singh saying that on 24 December, 2016, they were shifted to a common cell with another prisoner, who has been allegedly harassing them physically and mentally.

Special Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal was told by deputy superintendent of police Sanjay Gupta that both inmates were shifted to a separate cell on 11 January.

"In these circumstances, as the grievance of both the inmates has already been addressed and to the satisfaction of their counsel, the application is disposed of," the court said.

During the hearing, the jail officer said the inmates were shifted to another cell where cameras were installed following the anniversary of 16 December, 2012 incident and keeping in mind the suicide of accused Ram Singh.

Advocate A P Singh, who has filed the plea on behalf of the two inmates, said the duo's feared for their lives as there was an apprehension that they could be harmed by the co -prisoner. As the jail authorities have now shifted them to a separate cell, he has no grievance.

Pawan, Akshay, Vinay Sharma and Mukesh were convicted and sentenced to death by a trial court on 10 September, 2013 in the 16 December, 2012 gangrape and murder case and the punishment was upheld by the Delhi High Court on 13 March, 2014. Their appeals are pending before the Supreme Court.

Six persons, including a juvenile, had beaten up and robbed carpenter Ram Adhar before raping and brutally assaulting a 23-year-old girl in a moving bus in south Delhi on the night of 16 December, 2012. Thirteen days after the assault, she was transferred to a hospital in Singapore for emergency treatment where she succumbed to her injuries.

-PTI