The notorious rapist was alive even two hours after hanging, then the police did something like this...

There have been many crimes in the history of India which fall in the category of 'rarest of rare'. But the Ranga-Billa rape and murder case of 1978 was one that not only shook the country but also started pushing Delhi towards the infamy of 'rape capital'. On 26 August 1978, daughter Geeta and son Sanjay of Navy officer Madan Mohan Chopra, who lived in Dhaula Kuan area of Delhi, left home to participate in a program 'Yuvavani' of All India Radio (AIR). Geeta was a second year student at Jesus and Mary College of Delhi University at that time and Sanjay was studying in school. It was raining, so on the way, both of them took a lift from an acquaintance, Dr. MS Nanda. He dropped the children near Gole Dakkhana which was just 1 kilometer away from AIR Bhawan.

Kidnapping happened in broad daylight from Gol Market

Both of them were walking towards All India Radio when a Fiat car stopped. Ranga and Billa, who were sitting in the car, forcibly pulled both of them inside. Seeing the movement of the car, a shopkeeper called the police and informed them. At the same time, an engineer Indrajit Singh Noato, who was riding a scooter, heard the girl's screams from the car and tried to stop it. Sanjay showed him his blood-soaked shirt and asked for help, but by then the car had left. On 28 August 1978, a shepherd found the bodies of both the children in the dense forest of Delhi Ridge. The postmortem report proved that Geeta was raped and then both were brutally murdered.

Who were Ranga and Billa?

Real names Kuljit Singh alias Ranga and Jasbir Singh alias Billa. Both of them were very clever criminals. Many cases of murder and robbery were already registered against them. After the incident, they absconded and were hiding in Agra. But luck did not favour them. Both of them boarded the army bogie by mistake and the soldiers caught them there. Later they were handed over to Delhi Police.

When and how was he hanged?

Both these criminals were sentenced to death first by the Delhi High Court and then by the Supreme Court. The final verdict came on 7 April 1979 and both were hanged in Tihar Jail on 31 January 1982. To carry out this hanging, two executioners Fakira and Kalu were called from Meerut and Faridkot.

Ranga did not die even after death!

Both of them were hanged together in the 'hanging cell' of Tihar Jail. According to the rules, after two hours of hanging, doctors have to check whether the criminal is dead or not. The check-up revealed that Billa was dead but Ranga had a pulse. The jail officials, the executioner and the doctors were all shocked. Now the question was - what to do? After much deliberation, a policeman was sent under the 'hanging cell'. He pulled Ranga's legs down forcefully, due to which he lost his breath and died. This horrific incident has been mentioned in detail in the book 'Black Warrant' by former Tihar Jail legal officer Sunil Gupta and journalist Sunetra Chaudhary.

PC:Punjab Kesari