A jail in Bihar has offered to supply its famous 'manila' rope to hang Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist arrested during the terror siege on Mumbai, who was awarded the death sentence by a special court on Thursday.
"We are ready with the supplies if authorities of Arthur Jail (where Kasab is currently lodged) place an order, which they have not done so far. We are sure to be approached for the special manila rope that is spun in our jail premises to hang Kasab," Superintendent of Buxar Jail Jaishankar Prasad told rediff.com.
Buxar prison is the only jail in the country that has expertise in manufacturing wax-coated manila rope, which can withstand the tension caused by the fall of the convict after the execution.
Manufacturing a manila rope is a tedious affair. The yarn is first spun into a thick thread from J-34 variety of cotton, then the thread is smoothened by soft wax to ensure that there are no knots in it.
Authorities of Buxar jail had sent a consignment of manila rope to Tihar jail in 2005, after Parliament attack convict Mohammed Afzal Guru was awarded the death sentence. However, the rope was never used as Afzal Guru's mercy petition is still pending before the President.
The manila rope was used in 2004 to hang Dhananjay Chatterjee, who was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a teenager, at Alipore Jail in Kolkata. No convict on death row has been hanged in India since 2004.
