Last moment of Two Murderers

NK SINGH

This is a study in contrast, of two murderers who were hanged in the Rajipur Central Jail, Madhya Pradesh, recently. Both of them had been convicted of killing their spouses.

38-year-old Pyarelal, sent to gallows on May 1, was every inch a hardened criminal and remained unrepentant till his last breath. While undergoing trial for killing his wife in 1964, he murdered two fellow prisoners inside the jail following an alteration of a personal nature. Both were fast asleep when their heads were crushed by a heavy boulder and an iron bar. Ultimately, Pyarelal was sentenced to death for the triple murder.

28-year-old Budhram was hanged on June 18 for murdering his wife Man Kunwar, 25, and uncle, Bagarsai, 27, when he found them in a compromising position. The murder, obviously committed in a rage, gave him such a psychosomatic shock that he lost his power of speech and hearing, which he regained only when told that he had been sentenced to death.

Change At Last

Budhram had turned highly religious in his last days. Ever since he was shifted to the Rajipur Jail from Surguja, where he was lodged till November 1976, he had asked for recitations from the Gita and Ramcharita Manas and this was done by other convicts. His last wish was that five Brahmins be fed 'puris' and 'kheer'. Brahmin-feeding forms an integral part of 'Shraddha', the after-death Hindu rite. Only after feeding the Brahmins did he eat his food on his last day, which he spent hearing recitations from Gita and Manas.

Last Supper

Pyarelal, who said he had "no last wish", was far from religious. After the rejection of his mercy appeal, he spent his last days in complete seclusion. When in the early hours of May 1 the Jail Superintendent arrived in his cell along with a judge and a Pandit, Pyarelal learnt instinctively that his last moments had come. 

The Superintendent asked the condemned man to take a bath and wear new clothes, but Pyarelal declined. He also refused to take the religious services of the pandit and did not drink the holy Ganga water or chew the sacred Tulsi leaves. "I don't want to get myself purified", he retorted. However, he climbed the ladders of gallows with complete calm, just like Budhram. He had refused to get his hands tied or blindfolded, but the jail manual did not permit such exemptions.

The condemned prisoners are normally offered the food of their choice on their last days. Here, too, there was a sharp contrast between, the lifestyle of the two convicts. Pyarelal relishly devoured chicken and other non-vegetarian delicacies. He also demanded different seasonal vegetables and fruits.

On the other hand, when Budhram was informed a week before his death that his mercy petition had been rejected and asked what he would like to eat, he replied "What can my last wish be during my last moment?". After much coaxing, however, he relented and asked to be fed grapes every day.

Dummy Death

Since death sentences are few and far between the last hanging in Raipur jail had taken place three years ago hectic preparations were made to avoid any last-minute complications in the hanging. A 90 Kg dummy -- the dummy must be one and half times more than the weight of the condemned man was prepared to test the strength of the scaffold. At the time of both hangings, a convict was selected to pull the levers since the jail did not have an official hangman.

The Current

September 30, 1978