Nirbhaya case: Convict who banged his head against jail wall moves court

One of the four death-row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape-and-murder case, Vinay Sharma, injured himself by banging his head against the wall of his cell in Tihar Jail, officials said on Thursday.

On Thursday, Sharma moved a Delhi court seeking better treatment for his mental illness, which he said was schizophrenia, and the head injury. Sharma's lawyer told the court he was refusing to recognise people, including his mother. ANI reported Sharma has sought to be treated at the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences.

However, the prosecutor opposed the plea by Vinay Sharma, claiming it was not maintainable. The court issued a notice to Tihar jail and fixed the matter for further hearing on Saturday.

Head injury

The incident happened in jail number 3 on February 16. Sharma got some minor injuries and was treated inside the prison premises, officials said.

According to prison officials, Vinay had briefly stopped eating. "He is irritable in nature and acts different from the other three convicts. His nature is different from the other three," they said.

"Sharma got hurt inside his cell after he banged his head against a wall on Sunday afternoon. While he was at it, security personnel saw him, stopped him immediately and called the doctors," a senior jail official said.

A Delhi court on Monday ordered that Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Kumar Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar (31)—the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape-and-murder case—be hanged on at 6am on March 3.

The court was informed that Vinay was on hunger strike in Tihar jail but he later ended his protest. It directed the jail superintendent to take appropriate care of Vinay as per law.

Vinay's lawyer had told the court that the convict was assaulted in jail and has head injuries, adding that he was suffering from acute mental illness and hence the death sentence cannot be carried out.

This is not the first time, Vinay Sharma has attempted to harm himself.

In August 2016, he attempted to hang himself at Tihar jail after consuming pills.

The court rejected the ground of "mental illness", saying that the issues was raised before the Supreme Court and it rejected the plea on the basis of the report submitted by the doctors, who said the convict was "psychologically well adjusted" and the "general condition of the petitioner is stable".

According to sources, with the date of execution approaching, the mental health of the four convicts is being regularly checked by doctors.

They all are being kept in jail number 3 in separate cells and they are being monitored round the clock, the senior jail official said.

Death warrants were earlier issued on January 7 and the execution was later deferred twice—on January 17 and January 31.

(With PTI inputs)