Shabnam, the first woman likely to be hanged since 1947
Shabnam and her lover Saleem
Lucknow: Death row convict Shabnam, who was awarded the death sentence for killing seven members of her family in April 2008, has filed a fresh mercy petition to Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and President of India Ram Nath Kovind.
According to Anand Kumar, Director General (prison department and reform services), Shabnam had also approached the Uttar Pradesh Governor earlier for pardon, but Patel had rejected her petition.
"A copy of mercy appeal to the UP governor by death-row convict prisoner Shabnam through her lawyer regarding Supreme Court order dated May 25, 2015, was made available to our office to be forwarded," said Rampur jail superintendent.
If executed, Shabnam will be the first woman in independent India to be hanged for a crime.
Only one jail in India –– the one in Mathura –– has the provisions for hanging a woman convict. Pawan Kumar, the hangman in the December 2012 New Delhi gangrape case, has recently been quoted as saying by media outlets that he had been to the Mathura jail to see if the execution room was in working order.
Shabnam along with her lover Saleem was convicted of killing seven members of her family in 2008 –– father Shaukat Ali (55), mother Hashmi (50), elder brother Anees (35), Anees's wife Anjum (25), younger brother Rashid (22), cousin Rabia (14), and Arsh, Anees's 10-month-old son.
Prison Superintendent Shashikant Mishra said that the hanging house inside the Agra District Jail is in shambles and the condition has been reported to higher authorities. He said since the execution apparatus has not been used since 1984, it has become a complete wreck and requires immediate replacement. He added that since executions have now become rare in India, prison authorities have not taken up the matter of replacing the equipment as a priority.
Established in 1741, the Agra District Jail has witnessed 35 hangings since Independence, the first one taking place in 1951.
In 2014, Surinder Koli, convict in the infamous Nithari case, was to be hanged at the Agra District Jail, but since the hanging apparatus was in complete disuse, he was hanged at the Meerut District Jail.