Rajasthan plans law to punish child rapists with death

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan government was planning to bring a law to award death penalty for raping girls aged 15 or below, sources said on Monday, a month after neighbouring Madhya Pradesh passed a similar bill.

The Rajasthan home department was preparing a bill that would be presented during the budget session, expected to begin in the last week of February or the first week of March, government sources said. “The government intends to ensure safety of girls and women... that is why a move has been initiated for capital punishment in child rape cases,” a source said.

Rajasthan ranked fifth in the country in crime against women, with 27,422 cases reported in 2016, National Crime Record Bureau data says. Of the 3,656 rape cases registered in the state, 777 were for assaulting victims who were 18 or younger. The bill also proposes a minimum of 14-year rigorous imprisonment or life imprisonment for raping a 15-year-old or a younger child, sources said. At present, assaulting a 16-year-old invites a maximum of a life term. Punishment for gangrape will be enhanced to death. Minimum sentence could be life imprisonment.

The draft is ready and will be sent to the law department after the home minister’s nod and then to the cabinet for approval, the official said. Once passed by the assembly, the bill will be sent to the governor who will forward it for the President’s sanction.