Vinay Sharma, one of the four death row convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape case, had reportedly attempted to hurt himself in the prison earlier this week after he starting hitting his head against the wall inside his cell. The reports say that his attempts were stopped by the Tihar prison authorities and he has been treated by the authorities to ensure that he remains with good health until he steps on the gallows to get executed.

The reports say that Vinay Sharma had received minor injuries after his attempts were stopped by the authorities. The incident had happened on February 16th, exactly one day before the Delhi court had issued a fresh death warrant against the convicts. On Monday, the Delhi court had directed the Tihar prison authorities to execute them on March 3rd, 2020 at 6 am. The fresh warrant is the third one in the line pronounced by the same court after the previous orders were halted earlier.

While his attempt was seen as the move to halt and postpone the death penalty, his counsel Mukesh Kumar Singh has on Tuesday told the court that Vinay Sharma was suffering from acute mental illness and he stated that this is the reason why the death sentence cannot be carried out. Apart from notifying his ailment, Mukesh Kumar said that Vinay Sharma has also been assaulted in the prison and he was carrying out a hunger strike in the prison premises. 

Earlier, the Delhi court had issued the first death warrant of executing the convicts on January 22nd and after one of the convicts had moved mercy petition to the President, the execution was postponed to February 1st and exactly one day before the execution, the Delhi court has halted the death penalty on January 31st and stayed the execution till further orders. 

Four convicts Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Kumar Sharma (26), and Akshay Kumar (31), have currently been lodged in Tihar jail in Delhi and nearing the gallows as the court had issued a third death warrant against them for brutally gangraping and murdering a paramedical student in Delhi in 2012.