Dhananjoy: 'President's decision is surprising'

The father of Dhananjoy Chatterjee, convicted of raping and murdering a minor girl, expressed surprised at President A P J Abdul Kalam's decision to reject a plea for clemency.

"How could the President do this to a poor man's son? My son has already spent 14 years in jail," Bansidhar told Bengali television channels on Wednesday.

Chatterjee was convicted of raping and murdering 14-year-old Hetal Parekh in Kolkata in 1990. A lower court in Kolkata had sentenced him to death in 1992. Higher courts, including the Supreme Court, upheld the verdict.

But he continued to win reprieves by appealing to the West Bengal governor and twice to the President.

However, this seems to be the end of the road for Chatterjee whose family, including his parents, had threatened to kill themselves if he was hanged.

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The West Bengal government is yet to get a copy of the President's note rejecting Chatterjee's plea. "We will revive the execution process once we get the relevant documents from Delhi," said a law ministry official. The date for Chatterjee's execution is to be finalised by the state's law and home ministries.

Some reports said Chatterjee's lawyers would move the Supreme Court on the ground that his execution had already been delayed for several years and that he couldn't be of sound mental health having lived in the fear of death for so long.