By IANS
Ranchi : The execution of a domestic servant convicted of killing five of a family here in 2003 will not take place as scheduled on Thursday, an official of the city jail said Wednesday.
“The hanging has been stayed by the Supreme Court,” said A. Minz, jail superintendent of the Birsa Munda Central Jail here.
Minz said he received the copy of the court order Wednesday.
In April earlier this year, a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court here had convicted Pal of killing the five members of the family he worked for, and gave him the death sentence. The Jharkhand High Court on Aug 28 upheld the CBI court’s verdict.
On Sep 5, the CBI court fixed Sep 27 as the date for hanging as the accused had neither appealed in the Supreme Court nor sought any clemency from the governor or the president.
Ajay Pal, a resident of Jhalda in West Bengal, killed the five members of a family on June 2, 2003 by burning them alive. He was working as domestic servant with the family of Dhirendra Kumar.
Pal was reportedly unhappy with behaviour of Kumar’s wife. He first poisoned the food, which the family members took in dinner. Later, when they were sleeping, he burnt them alive by sprinkling petrol in the house.
Those killed included Dhirendra’s wife, his son Harshit, niece Anmol, nephew Ayan Kumar and domestic help Kaleshwar Mahto. When the incident took place Dhirendra was then away from Ranchi.