“It is learnt from reliable sources that the President of India has rejected Dhananjoy’s plea.”

These, roughly, were the words that emanated from a tiny FM radio set and reverberated around the condemned cell in Alipore Central jail.

It was around 1.30 pm on Wednesday that Dhananjoy Chatterjee heard the words of final condemnation, while tuned into some Hindi film songs on the FM.

Since then, he was seen sitting on the floor clutching on to the radio set and listening repeatedly to the broadcast.

The radio set was, after all, his only window to the world. It had brought him a glimmer of hope with news of the President’s intervention on June 24. And on August 4, it all but sounded his death knell.

Dhananjoy probably caught the drift of things to come early on Wednesday when an additional batch of 10 warders was deployed in front of his ground-floor cell.

“The moment we were conveyed the President’s decision verbally, we decided to strengthen vigil in front of his cell,” said a jail official, adding: “After the President’s intervention, we had reduced the number of warders to 10. From this morning, we have deployed at least 20.”

The chief disciplinary officer of the jail supervised the beefed-up bandobust.

All through the security scurry, Dhananjoy remained silent. “Like all other days, he was listening to the radio after lunch. But unlike other days, he was looking a little worried. He was constantly switching from one channel to another, as if searching for some good news,” said a jail official.

The official confirmation came at 6.05 pm. “Ami jantam eta hobe (I knew this would happen),” was all the condemned man had to say.

There was no visible reaction till late on Wednesday, when he “even accepted the dinner plate like other days”, observed a jail official.

According to jail officials, this was consistent with his behaviour throughout the to-hang-or-not-to-hang drama.

Even when the President had stepped in, all that Dhananjoy had said was: “Amar kandh theke mrityur bhar neme gelo (The burden of death has slipped off my shoulders).”But his mood changed when a number of rallies involving prominent citizens hit the streets, urging the President not to pardon him.

“Amaar phansi hobei, keu thekate parbe na (I will be hanged, no one will be able to stop it),” was what Dhananjoy told his jailers.