<p>The mercy petitions of four death-row convicts in the April 1993 Palar landmine blast case involving the slain notorious sandalwood smuggler Veerappan, have purportedly been rejected by the President of India, a human rights body based in Tamil Nadu claimed on Wednesday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>It also dashed off an SOS to all authorities concerned to ensure that no action was taken to execute them.<br /><br />In New Delhi, both Rashtrapati Bhavan and the Home Ministry refused to confirm the report. <br /><br />A spokesman of the President’s office said the Home Ministry “may be contacted about the report” while the ministry said it had no clue about the rejection of the mercy petitions. <br /><br />In Bangalore, L R Pachau, DG&IGP, Karnataka State Police told Deccan Herald that there was no formal communication from either the President’s office or Home Ministry to the State about the reported rejection of mercy petitions of four Veerappan associates. <br /><br />“I have also seen some media reports on the issue. But there has been no formal confirmation and at this stage I cannot comment on the issue further,” he said. <br /><br />The pleas for mercy by the four death-row convicts lodged in Belgaum Central Jail in Karnataka – Simon, Gnana Prakash, ‘Meesakara’ Madhiah and Bilavendra – are said to have been “denied” by the President, Henry Tiphagne, honorary national working secretary of Human Rights Defenders Alert- India said, citing information received from prison sources.<br /><br />“We are not sure of the date when the President rejected their mercy pleas, but we learnt that last night the Belgaum jail authorities have served the letters to the accused persons (informing of the President’s rejection) and obtained signature from one of them,” Tiphagne told Deccan Herald over phone.<br /><br />The land-mine explosion set off by Veerappan’s gang near the Palar river bridge, bordering Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, on April 9, 1993, when a police party headed by Superintendent of Police K Gopalakrishnan was proceeding to nab the bandit on a tip-off, had resulted in the death of 22 policemen. The trial Tada court in Mysore had sentenced the four to life, but on appeal the Supreme Court in 2004 enhanced the punishment to death penalty.<br /><br />With the execution of Afzal Guru, the Parliament attack convict, “we are in a culture of secret hangings,” Tiphagne told Deccan Herald. So, “we have sent out these appeals urging that secret hangings should not take place; rather, proper intimation must be made to the families before hand.” <br /><br />The organisation also said in its appeal that “before a death sentence is carried out, there should be sufficient time to allow the prisoners or civil society to intervene before the Supreme Court”, in accordance with international human rights standards.</p>
<p>The mercy petitions of four death-row convicts in the April 1993 Palar landmine blast case involving the slain notorious sandalwood smuggler Veerappan, have purportedly been rejected by the President of India, a human rights body based in Tamil Nadu claimed on Wednesday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>It also dashed off an SOS to all authorities concerned to ensure that no action was taken to execute them.<br /><br />In New Delhi, both Rashtrapati Bhavan and the Home Ministry refused to confirm the report. <br /><br />A spokesman of the President’s office said the Home Ministry “may be contacted about the report” while the ministry said it had no clue about the rejection of the mercy petitions. <br /><br />In Bangalore, L R Pachau, DG&IGP, Karnataka State Police told Deccan Herald that there was no formal communication from either the President’s office or Home Ministry to the State about the reported rejection of mercy petitions of four Veerappan associates. <br /><br />“I have also seen some media reports on the issue. But there has been no formal confirmation and at this stage I cannot comment on the issue further,” he said. <br /><br />The pleas for mercy by the four death-row convicts lodged in Belgaum Central Jail in Karnataka – Simon, Gnana Prakash, ‘Meesakara’ Madhiah and Bilavendra – are said to have been “denied” by the President, Henry Tiphagne, honorary national working secretary of Human Rights Defenders Alert- India said, citing information received from prison sources.<br /><br />“We are not sure of the date when the President rejected their mercy pleas, but we learnt that last night the Belgaum jail authorities have served the letters to the accused persons (informing of the President’s rejection) and obtained signature from one of them,” Tiphagne told Deccan Herald over phone.<br /><br />The land-mine explosion set off by Veerappan’s gang near the Palar river bridge, bordering Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, on April 9, 1993, when a police party headed by Superintendent of Police K Gopalakrishnan was proceeding to nab the bandit on a tip-off, had resulted in the death of 22 policemen. The trial Tada court in Mysore had sentenced the four to life, but on appeal the Supreme Court in 2004 enhanced the punishment to death penalty.<br /><br />With the execution of Afzal Guru, the Parliament attack convict, “we are in a culture of secret hangings,” Tiphagne told Deccan Herald. So, “we have sent out these appeals urging that secret hangings should not take place; rather, proper intimation must be made to the families before hand.” <br /><br />The organisation also said in its appeal that “before a death sentence is carried out, there should be sufficient time to allow the prisoners or civil society to intervene before the Supreme Court”, in accordance with international human rights standards.</p>
