On 27th November at the winter session of Madhya Pradesh assembly, a bill to make capital punishment (death sentence) mandatory for people convicted of raping girls aged 12 years and below will be tabled, as reported by NDTV.
It would also include a resolution for death sentences for gang-rape convicts and an amendment in the penal code to increase the fine and punishment for rape convicts.
MP Finance Minister Jayant Malaiya reportedly said that the Cabinet also decided to give harsher punishment to those guilty of molesting, stalking and harassing women.
Madhya Pradesh: An unsafe place for women?
According to statistics given by the National Crime Records Bureau, Madhya Pradesh reported the highest number of rape cases in the country in 2014 and 2015 – 5076 and 4391 respectively.
As per NCRB data, most victims in India are aged between 18 and 30 years (15,556) and 14 and 18 years (8,877).
Bhopal was recently taken by shock after a 19-year-old girl was brutally gang-raped for three hours in a busy area in the city. A complaint had been registered against the rapists, but the entire process from the start to the end has been a harrowing one – from bureaucratic red-tapism to mockery, they faced it all.
All the four accused, identified as rag pickers, were later arrested.
Again, a man was accused of raping a minor as the two-year-old brother of the minor girl banged on his door.
Points to ponder It is beyond doubt that incidents of rape need to be dealt with strong hand and that the law and order needs to be strengthened. However, one is left wondering if issuing death penalties is the only way by which such heinous crimes against women can be curbed? Would issuing death penalties result in situations where the rapists would end up killing the victim? While 160 countries have abolished death sentence in law or practice, 98 have abolished it altogether. Is it not desirable to retain capital punishment in terror-related cases which pose a threat to national security and embrace the international trend of a complete abolition of capital punishment in all other cases?
