Patna: A jail in Bihar is working overtime to prepare 10 Manila ropes which are used for hanging prisoners on death row.
Buxur central jail located in central Bihar is perhaps the only jail in India which has the expertise in preparing these special ropes. It is prepared by the inmates lodged in the jail.
“We have the expertise in preparing Manila ropes. We supply such ropes to every jail in the country for hanging purposes. We are busy preparing these as our stock has run short,” Buxur jail superintendent Vijay Kumar Arora told the media, refusing to divulge more details.
According to him, the jail administration is preparing 10 Manila ropes right now and the work has been going on for the past few days.
Apparently the jail administration swung into action shortly after the federal home ministry sent a recommendation rejecting the mercy petition filed by one of the convicts in 2012 Nirbhaya rape and murder case sent to President Ram Nath Kovind.
The recommendation came on a day victim’s family sought for shooting dead rapists in the same way the four accused persons in Hyderabad veterinarian rape case were killed in alleged encounter. The home ministry’s recommendation also coincided with a call given by the President to do away with the mercy petition in cases involving sexual assaults on minors.
Given a series of such developments, it is believed these nooses could be used for hanging the convicts of Nirbhaya gang-rape case in Delhi.
Buxur jail is one of few prisons in India where Manila ropes are made. Jail authorities said the inmates lodged in this jail prepared this rope for which they have been imparted training by experts. Flanked by two rivers, the environment of this place is considered very ideal to prepare such ropes which are made from special kind of thread J-34 cotton yarn.
Authorities said a lot of hard work goes into making of Manila ropes. First, the yarn is spun into thick threat from J-34 variety of cotton. Then the thread is smoothened with a coat of soft wax. While making these ropes, the inmates take utmost care to ensure there are no knots in the thread.
According to jail officials, ropes supplied from this jail have been used for execution of several convicted prisoners and terrorists, such as Dhananjay Chatterjee who was accused of raping and killing a 14-year-old girl, Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab who was involved in the November 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks and Mohammad Afzal Guru who was found guilty in 2001 Parliament attack.
