India considering death penalty for child rapists

The Central government tells the Supreme Court that it is proposing the death penalty for those convicted of raping children below the age of 12

NEW DELHI: The Indian government said on Friday it is looking to introduce the death penalty for child rapists after nationwide outrage over the brutal gang rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl.

Demonstrations across the country, after the release of horrific details of the murder of the Muslim girl by a group of Hindu men, have increased pressure on the government to take action on sexual crimes.

The government told the Supreme Court that amending the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act to bring in capital punishment was under “active consideration” by the law ministry.

“The ministry is sensitive to the plight of young children brutally abused in the most horrific manner,” the government said in a statement to a Supreme Court hearing reported by Press Trust of India.

“The ministry is proposing to amend the POCSO Act for introducing death penalty for the abuser in the cases of aggravated sexual assault against children,” it added.

India retains the death penalty for the most serious cases such as particularly brutal murders or terror attacks.

But the sentences are rarely carried out, often struck down on appeal by higher courts.

India’s women’s minister last week called for the death penalty in child rape cases as opposition groups accused the Hindu nationalist government of inaction over the rape case in the Kathua district of Kashmir and Jammu state.

NEW DELHI: The Central government on Friday told the Supreme Court that it is proposing the death penalty for those convicted of raping children below the age of 12.

The proposal has come in the backdrop of nationwide outrage over the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir, and sexual assault of a teenager in Unnao in Uttar Pradesh.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Deepak Misra was told by the Ministry of Women and Child Development that it is “proposing” to amend the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for introducing “death penalty” to the convicts of child rape.

The letter written to Additional Solicitor General (ASG) PS Narasimha by Women and Child Development Ministry Deputy Secretary Anand Prakash, said the government is “sensitive to the plight of young children” brutally abused in the most horriic manner “The issue raised in the petition regarding the amendment of the provisions of the POCSO Act, 2012, so as to proving maximum punishment of ‘death penalty’ for commission of offences of rape of children of 0-12 years of age group is under active consideration of the Ministry.

“The Ministry is sensitive to the plight of young children brutally abused in the most horriic manner. The Ministry is proposing to amend POCSO Act, 2012, for introducing ‘death penalty’ for the abuser in the cases of aggravated sexual assault against children,” the Ministry said in a letter to the apex court.

The court posted the matter for hearing on April 27.

POCSO Act was formulated in order to effectively address sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children.

The Centre, on February 1, 2018, told the court death penalty was not the answer for every child sex abuse case and that graded penalties for graded offences have been provided under the POCSO Act, 2012.

On Friday the Centre’s response came on a PIL iled by an advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava demanding death penalty for those raping children.

The advocate has referred to recent law passed by Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan providing death penalty to the convicts if the rape victim is up to the age of 12 years.

Separately, three persons, including the main perpetrator, involved in the rape and murder of a nine-year-old girl in Surat have been arrested, the Gujarat government said on Friday.

Minister of state for home pradeepsinh Jadeja told the media here that Gujarat Police arrested the key perpetrator from a village in Ganganagar district of Rajasthan, who will be brought to Gujarat.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said that Surat Police had arrested three persons in the case. All accused are believed to be originally from Rajasthan.

Police had found the body of the girl with over 86 injuries dumped in the bushes near Jeeav Road in Pandesara area of Surat on April 6. An autopsy revealed that she was brutally raped and tortured for days before her murder.

A case of rape was registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

The Minister said that over 400 personnel of Surat police and Ahmedabad Crime Branch worked on the case.

Police analysed the mobile data and CCTV footage from a 3-km radius of the spot from where the body was found. The case was inally cracked after police zeroed in on CCTV footage of a black car moving suspiciously in the area.

Earlier, police suspected that the girl hailed from either Odisha, West Bengal or Jharkhand. An Andhra Pradesh man had come forward to claim the girl was his daughter. Surat police even carried out a DNA test to verify his claim.