Schoolgirl's murderer last to be hanged in India

Dhananjoy Chatterjee, convicted of rape and murder of a schoolgirl in Kolkata in March 1990 and hanged in August 2004, was the last man to be hanged in India.

Chatterjee, who worked as security guard in the apartment where the victim Hetal Parekh and her family resided, was hanged to death in Kolkata's Alipore Jail on Aug 14, 2004 after then president A.P.J Abdul Kalam dismissed his mercy petition.

Earlier, his mercy pleas had been rejected by Kalam's predecessors - Shankar Dayal Sharma and K.R Narayanan.

Chatterjee was lodged in jail for 14 years after his conviction by a sessions court in 1991.

Before him, the last hanging was held in 1995, when serial killer Auto Shankar was hanged to death in Tamil Nadu.