The family business

Following in father's footsteps in the art of hanging.

Everyone should take pride in what they do.

I'd hate to see his scrap album however.

Meerut hangman wants to prepare noose for Kasab

The Times of India

MEERUT: Decades after his father hanged the assassins of prime minister Indira Gandhi, Mammu Singh says he wants to hang Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai carnage.

"I want to prepare a noose for him and see him die. I am just praying to the almighty that I get an official call to hang Kasab," Singh, a hangman with the Central Jail in Meerut, said.

"I am very happy that Kasab got the death sentence. I personally want that he should be hanged as soon as possible. His (Kasab) death should serve as a deterrent to all those, particularly terrorists from Pakistan who should think at least hundred times before making any assault on our country," he added.

For the last nearly four decades, Singh, 65, has been directly or indirectly involved in hanging convicts of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, among other states.

"Hanging is an art. Preparation of a noose requires a series of steps to make the hanging simple. Before hanging any person, I apply soap, ghee and other substances to the rope for making the hanging smooth. Moreover, as a hangman you have to maintain the correct posture of the convict while hanging," said Singh, whose father Kallu hanged Kehar Singh and Satwant Singh, assassins of Indira Gandhi, in 1989.

Moments after he came to know from TV news channels that Kasab was sentenced to death, Singh said he mentally prepared himself for hanging Kasab.

"Hanging requires a lot of courage and guts. Though preparing yourself mentally for the job is the toughest part of hanging, I am perfectly ready for it," said Singh, who lives in the bylanes of Shiv Hari-Mandir colony here.

"I am personally of the view that taking into account my experience of a hangman, I would definitely be called for hanging Kasab. Frankly speaking, I would get a unique sense of satisfaction in hanging Kasab, who along with his aides indiscriminately killed several innocents," he added.

Till now, Singh has hanged 10 people in different states. A Mumbai special court which conducted the trial of 26/11 terror strikes announced the death penalty for Kasab Thursday.