'Hang Till Death': Book narrates 11 stories of capital punishment in India

At a time when an enraged India is demanding "capital punishment" for those who raped and murdered a 25-year-old veterinarian near Hyderabad, a new book retells the stories of 11 high-profile criminal cases that culminated in a death sentence.

"Hang till Death", written by advocate Prateek Jain, delves deeper into the history of death penalty in India before taking the readers through detailed accounts of convicts and the crimes they committed to face the harshest punishment.

It begins with the 1948 case of Nathuram Vinayak Godse, who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi, along with co-conspirator Narayan Apte, and covers all the cases till the most recent one on Yakub Abdul Razak Memon, who was executed by hanging on 30 July, 2015 in Nagpur jail for his involvement in the 1993 Bombay bombings.

"Each story is meticulously researched and traced from the beginning, including facts which have never been revealed, and with the perpetrator's circumstances and motivations analysed," publishers Bloomsbury said in a statement.

The cases narrated chronologically in the book include stories of Sucha Bassi, Baldev Singh and Nahar Singh, who assassinated Punjab's former chief minister Pratap Singh Karion; Ajmal Kasab, who was behind the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai; Afzal Guru, convicted for 2001 Parliament attack and Dhananjoy Chatterjee, charged with the rape and murder of 14-year-old Hetal Parekh.

According to the author, the book also answers some pertinent questions on capital punishment -- be it about the convict, the crime or the legal system of India.

"Justice may be delayed, but it will never be denied, irrespective of what obstacles lie in the path. These 11 stories prove this fact.

"Also, this book makes an honest attempt to answer questions like 'What was the origin and motivation behind these crimes?', 'And how did their lives come to an end?'