An Etah-based NGO on Saturday said it has approached the Tihar Jail authorities seeking permission to recite 'Garuda Purana' to the death-row convicts of the Nirbhaya case to make them "mentally prepared" to face the gallows.
The 'Garuda Purana' scripture is one of the 18 'Mahapuranas' in Hinduism, and it talks in details about 'karma', afterlife and reincarnation among others.
Pradeep Raghunandan, the chairperson of the NGO Rashtriya Yuva Shakti which works for reforming jail inmates, said he has written a letter to the Tihar jail authorities on January 12 asking for the permission, but is yet to get a reply.
In the letter, Raghunandan said, "In order to remove fear from the mind of the convicts, and to make them mentally prepared for the capital punishment, 'Garuda Puraan' should be recited. According to the religious and cultural tradition of India its recitation may prove useful."