Pawan Gupta, one of the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case, has been chanting Mahakaleshwar Chalisa for the past three months to ward off his hanging.
His father Heera Lal Gupta said that he consulted many priests and astrologers to find out ways to overcome his son’s suffering and one of them suggested he chant Shri Mahakaleshwar Chalisa. It is a devotional hymn dedicated to Lord Shiva, the most powerful Hindu God, who is known as both the creator and the destroyer of the universe.
According to Indian mythology, chanting this sacred mantra averts anything inauspicious like the time of death.
“Initially he used to chant it 3100 times a day. He completed 1.25 lakh chanting in about one-and-a-half-month. Now, he chants 100 times a day,” Gupta said, confident of the religious remedy.
He also said that during this period, his son was neither eating any food grain nor shaving his beard. “He has been on a fruit diet and has lost weight from 80 kg to 64 kg,” Gupta told Outlook.
“He told me during one of the meetings that if the Supreme Court or the President didn’t give him any relief, he would go to the gallows chanting Mahakaleshwar Chalisa."
Gupta and parents of other death row convicts have been running pillar to post to get the hanging postponed.
Besides relying on religious remedies, Gupta, through his advocate AP Singh, is also contemplating various other legal moves. He will also file another mercy petition.
As per the court’s death warrant, Pawan, along with other three convicts, will be hanged at 5:30 am on March 20.
