Nirbhaya Convict Has Head Injury, Can't Recognise Mother, Claims Lawyer

One of the four Nirbhaya case convicts to be hanged on March 3, Vinay Sharma, was injured after he reportedly banged his head against the wall of his cell at Tihar jail in Delhi. He has approached the court for high level medical treatment for "grievous head injury, fracture in his right arm, mental illness and schizophrenia."

A jail official said Vinay Sharma, 26, had attempted to hurt himself by banging his head against a wall on Sunday afternoon. Security personnel saw him and stopped him. He suffered minor injuries.

His lawyer claims he has been unable to recognise people, including his mother. He has also asked for Vinay Sharma to be referred to the Institute of Human Behaviour & Allied Sciences hospital.

Earlier this week, the lawyer had told the court that he was on a "hunger strike" and his mental status was not good. "He is irritable and acts different from the other three convicts. His nature is different from the other three," said officials quoted by the Press Trust of India.

The court on Monday put out a third death warrant for Vinay Sharma, along with Akshay Thakur, 31, Pawan Gupta, 25, and Mukesh Singh, 32, the men convicted in the 2012 gang-rape of a young medical student who was assaulted and tortured so brutally that she died days later.

Two previous dates of hanging - January 22 and February 1 - came and went as the convicts filed multiple petitions to stall the execution. On February 5, the Delhi High Court ordered that all four would have a week to exhaust all their legal remedies, including mercy petitions to the President, and said they cannot be hanged separately.

A special public prosecutor told the court that three of the convicts were done with their legal options and there is no petition pending in any court.

On the third date of hanging, Nirbhaya's mother said: "I hope that this date is final. Anybody is given an opportunity for remedy only for a limited number of times. These four convicts have been given enough opportunities now. Our struggle will end on March 3 when these convicts will be hanged."

Six men, including one just short of 18, were arrested after the December 16, 2012 gangrape. One of the main accused, Ram Singh, was found hanging in his jail cell. The teen was released after three years in a reform home.

Vinay Sharma's lawyer had earlier also claimed that he was assaulted in jail and that he was suffering from acute mental illness, so the death sentence cannot be carried out.