NEW DELHI, 5 August 2004 — Indian President Abdul Kalam has rejected the mercy plea of a man convicted of raping and murdering a schoolgirl in 1990.
Dhananjoy Chatterjee, an apartment guard and elevator operator in Calcutta raped and killed 16-year-old tenant Hetal Parekh when she returned from school on March 5, 1990. He was due to be executed on June 25 but a human rights group made a last-minute appeal to Kalam for clemency on behalf of the convict.
The convict’s father Bangshidhar Chatterjee, 76, and mother Purnima Chatterjee, 70, had threatened to commit suicide if their son was hanged and asked that the execution wait until they die.
West Bengal Law Minister Nisith Adhikari said yesterday he was waiting to receive an official notification from the president’s office before an execution date could be determined. “The date for Chatterjee’s hanging will be fixed after the president’s letter reaches my office table. I hope it will reach this afternoon,” a jubilant Adhikari told AFP.
“My government wants him punished for his crime and the people of this state want him hanged. We are happy the president has rejected the plea,” he added.
The news of the rejected plea was greeted with joy in the eastern port city of Calcutta, the victim’s home town, with her school offering prayers, the state law minister hailing the decision and the hangman saying the “hated” convict deserved to die. The hanging will be carried out by 83-year-old Nata Mallick, who told reporters he was tying nooses at home for practice and would bring to the gallows his 20-year-old grandson who would succeed him as Calcutta’s hangman.
“By rejecting the mercy plea, the president has done justice to the family of poor Hetal whose tears cannot go in vain,” said Mallick. “I will be happy to hang such an accused who is hated by most people of the state.”
