The Nirbhaya Case of 2012 shook the entire nation. After a wait of seven long years, four convicts namely Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur and Pawan Gupta were executed on 20 March 2020 at 5:30 a.m. IST, in Tihar Jail, Delhi. While the entire nation felt that justice was done, those four convicts were convinced till the last moment that they would walk free. Realisation only dawned when they were taken to to the gallows for hanging. 

In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, Mr. Deepak Sharma, Jailor of Tihar Jail, recounted that time and the behaviour of the four convicts, who it seems were very normal and behaved like nothing will happen to them, until the time of their hanging arrived and they were face-to-face with death.   

STOPPED WALKING 

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The Delhi High Court had ordered death sentence to all these four men for rape and murder of a para medical student in a moving bus. Although they had petitioned in the Supreme Court against the death penalty, their petition was dismissed. Thereafter, once again, their lawyer moved the Delhi High Court, citing Coronavirus as an excuse for the lack of proper documents in a hurriedly-filed appeal. 

Jailor Deepak Sharma was handpicked for their execution. All of them were kept in jail number 3 of Tihar. “Till 4 am, they were sure that their execution will be stayed and they will get an extension. I was posted in Tihar on 17 March and for the next three days, our aim was to monitor them regularly and keep other inmates safe from them. The responsibility was big and even my emotions were connected with the case. We were prepared fully and was just waiting for the final death warrant.” 

Gallows were specially designed for the four men and all preparations were in place. At 4:30 am, the jail administration received the green signal. They moved and gave white clothes to the four men to wear. This was the moment when these men realized that nothing can stop their execution now, and two of them fainted. 

“After they were taken on their final walk, just 10 metres away from the spot, their legs stopped moving. It was like they did not have any energy left to continue walking. Somehow, we managed to take them to the gallows and everything went as planned,” Mr. Sharma said.

EVEN BIG GANGSTERS HAVE SELF-RESPECT 

A fitness enthusiast, Mr. Sharma has handled many dangerous criminals in Tihar jail. Whether it is Lawrence Bishnoi, Munna Bajrangi or Tillu Tajpuria, many such criminals involved in organized crime have been under his charge. When asked how difficult it is to handle such criminals, he said, “They also have self-respect. Many inmates and common people see them as heroes due to the misuse of social media. So, these gangsters try to follow all the rules and behave properly in the jail. They don’t want the administration to manhandle them as then they will lose other inmates’ respect.”

LEARNED TO IDENTIFY PEOPLE 

Mr. Sharma has been posted in Tihar Jail for many years now and have to spend most of his time among offenders and criminals. With such long experience in bad company, he has learned to identify people easily. He now rarely makes mistakes in examining people. “Whenever I meet someone, the first thing I notice is their positive attributes. I slowly move from positive to negative, and due to this practice, I am able to exactly figure out the character of that person,” he said.

This ability no doubt helps him in his dealings with the jail inmates as he knows who has to be dealt with in which way, and who can and who cannot be trusted. Not just in jail, in the outside world too, this ability to recognise people for what they are, surely helps him to recognise a criminal hidden in the garb of a gentleman.