13 April 2004 :

The wives of four bandits due to be hanged in Bangalore, southern India, on April 16, were pinning their hopes on a last-minute presidential pardon, the women told AFP. The men had been sentenced to death in January 2004 after being convicted of involvement in a 1993 landmine blast masterminded by India's most wanted bandit, Muniswamy Veerappan, which killed 21 people. "My husband was falsely implicated and I hope the president will pardon him," said Thangammal, wife of Bilavendra, who like many Indians uses only one name. "No one should be hanged. If we kill we will also be called murderers," Thangammal, who was in Bangalore to attend a workshop against the death penalty, told AFP.