Nirbhaya Case: Court Seeks Jail Report on Assault on Convict

NEW DELHI:
A Delhi court on Thursday sought Action Taken Report (ATR) from Mandoli Jail authorities on an application filed by one of the death-row convicts in Nirbhaya rape case, Pawan Kumar Gupta, seeking registration of an FIR against two police personnel for allegedly physically assaulting him in jail last year.

Metropolitan Magistrate Prayank Nayak has sought the ATR from the jail authorities by April 8. “This order will have no bearing on the other matter. Hanging will not be stayed because of this,” the judge clarified.

The court had yesterday sought a reponse from the jail authorities on the application in which Pawan had prayed for a direction to the Station House Officer (SHO) of Harsh Vihar Police Station to register a case against constable Anil Kumar and another unidentified police constable. Pawan, who along with three others, is scheduled to be hanged on March 20 at 5:30 am, alleged that he was beaten with “lathi, and fist-blows on his whole body” by the duo on July 26 and 28 in jail last year.

“They also threatened to ‘kill him slowly’,” the application moved by Pawan stated. It further asserted that he was treated at Guru Teg Bahadur government hospital in Shahdara for his head injuries.

Then jail authorities promised stern legal action against the police personnel, but no such action was taken against the culprits, it added. The convicts were later shifted to Jail Number-3 of Tihar.