Threat perception high, convicts moved to high-security prison cell

Chandigarh: Soon after a fast-track court in Haryana's Rohtak on Monday awarded the death sentence to seven men for raping and murdering a 28-year-old Nepali woman in February, the authorities at Rohtak district jail shifted the convicts to a high-security ward apprehending an attack from other prisoners for committing such a heinous crime.
Rohtak jail superintendent Daya Nand said as per rules even the convicts on death row were kept like ordinary prisoners till they fail to get relief from the President.However, in this case, according to the jail superintendent, the convicts have been kept in a security ward to ensure their protection.
"There are already 22 prisoners who have been lodged in the same security ward to avoid a gang war," added Nand.
According to jail officials, convicts in the rape and woman case appeared disheartened ever since after the court awarded them the death sentence on Monday. "They haven't eaten much after the verdict," the jail superintendent said. "We have learnt that they were also feeling embarrassed for their role in the case, but were blaming alcohol for what they did," he added.
Meanwhile, father of one of the convict Padam Singh, a farmer from Taja Majra village in Rohtak district, met his son in the jail on Tuesday.
The judge, who broke the nib of her pen after pronouncing the judgment on Monday, had awarded the death sentence to Padam Singh, 39; Manvir Singh, 21; Sarvar Kumar, 30; Rajesh Kumar, 21; Pawan Kumar, 26; Sunil Kumar, 24; and Sunil Kumar, 37.
The 15-year-old minor accused in the case is lodged in an observation home in Hisar. The juvenile is being tried by the juvenile justice board in Rohtak.