The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) oon Saturday rejected a plea to save gallows-bound Shabnam, convicted for murdering her seven family members in Amroha, making it clear that the case did not come under their jurisdiction and was related to court. A plea was filed with the Commission by social worker Danish Khan on February 21, which was registered on May 20. It is being said that Khan was now planning to approach the UNO.
In 2008, Shabnam and her lover Salim had killed seven of her family members, for opposing their marriage. Shabnam who was sent to jail immediately after the murder, gave birth to a son who was named Taj in December 2008. Shabnam and Salim, have been in jail since 2008 and were sentenced to death by a court in 2010. After this, the trial continued in higher courts but Taj was released from prison in 2015, when Shabnam’s friend Usman Saifi took responsibility for his upbringing. If the capital punishment comes about, Shabnam might become the first woman after Independence to be hanged.
Interestingly, earlier, Danish Khan had demanded that Shabnam be hanged as soon as possible, which got enough media attention. But due to legal issues, the date of her execution was postponed.
When Shabnam was lodged in Rampur jail, her son came to meet her in the jail and pleaded with the President of India through the media to stop the hanging of his mother, after which social activist Danish Khan changed his mind and sought to change Shabnam’s death sentence by filing a plea with the NHRC.