MP passes bill on death for rape of girls aged 12 and below
BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh state assembly unanimously passed a bill on Monday awarding capital punishment to those found guilty of raping girls aged 12 and below.
With the passage of the bill, Madhya Pradesh becomes the first state in the country where those convicted of such rapes will get death sentence.
The bill also recommends severe punishment for stalking and molestation.
As per the bill, a stalker may be punished with imprisonment up to three years and fine. A subsequent similar crime by the convict will mean an imprisonment from three to seven years and a fine of ₹1 lakh. If a man has sex with a woman on false promises of marriage, he will be sent
MP is the first state to take such a step and create history. It will trigger a debate on the issue in the entire country. SHIVRAJ SINGH CHOUHAN, Madhya Pradesh chief minister
to jail for up to three years.
Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, “Madhya Pradesh is the first state to take such a step and create history. It will trigger a debate on the issue, which concerns women in the society.”
He said it was unfortunate to see that relatives and acquaintances were involved in about 98% of rape incidents.
“It is our duty to protect our sisters in the society. We can further look into provisions to amend it so as to award severe punishment to those found guilty of raping girls aged more than 12,” Chouhan added.
“There are people in society who can be set right only by severe punishments. It (the legislation) will deal with them. We will also raise awareness in society against such crimes,” Chouhan added.
Though Opposition MLAs, including Govind Singh, Ramnivas Rawat and Sunderlal Tiwari, gave their nod to the bill, they said there should be efforts to see that it is not being misused and those innocent are not punished.
Govind Singh expressed his fear that in case of capital punishment, the perpetrator of the crime might kill the victim in a bid to destroy the evidence against him in the crime.