'Was not in Delhi on day of crime': Nirbhaya convict seeks stay on execution

A Delhi court on Tuesday (March 17) reserved its order on the plea of Mukesh Singh, one of the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case, who sought the quashing of his death penalty on claims that he was not in the city when the crime took place.

The plea claimed that Mukesh Singh was arrested from Rajasthan and brought to Delhi on December 17, 2012, and that he was not present in the city on December 16, when the crime took place.

Additional Sessions Judge Dharmendra Rana will pronounce the order on the convict’s plea shortly.

The public prosecutor told the court that Mukesh Singh’s plea is frivolous and a tactic to delay the scheduled hanging. The plea also alleged that Mukesh Singh was tortured inside the Tihar jail.

On March 5, a trial court issued fresh warrants with March 20, 5.30 am, as the date for the execution of convicts Mukesh Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26), and Akshay Kumar Singh (31).