23-YEAR-OLD GETS 20-YEAR JAIL FOR RAPING MINOR
KOTA: A POCSO court sentenced a man to 20-year imprisonment for abducting and raping a 13-year-old girl in Kota city around two years ago.
The court also imposed a fine of ₹30,000 on the 23-year-old convict, Monu Mahawar.
The convict on March 27, 2019, abducted the girl while she was returning home from classes and kept her at a relative’s house in Kota, where he repeatedly raped her.
The father of the survivor lodged a missing report after she did not return home. The girl was rescued after 19 days and Mahawar taken in custody.
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court-3 of the city convicted Mahawar on Monday. Statements of at least 22 witnesses were recorded during the trial of the case, the public prosecutor said.
JAIPUR: The Rajasthan government will for the first time bring in its own law to upgrade prisons across the state and equip inmates with skills to help them earn a decent living after the jail terms, said a top official familiar with the development.
Prisons and their administration come under the state list in the seventh schedule of the Constitution. Presently the jail department follows the Prisons Act, 1894, and rules like Rajasthan Prisons Rules, 1954, drawn from the act.
The state has prepared a new bill, the Rajasthan Prisons Bill, 2021, taking inspiration from the model jail manual, which was shared by the union home ministry in 2016.
“The draft of the bill has been sent to the law department for examination; the bill is expected to be passed in the ongoing budget session,” the official said.
“The purpose of the bill is to focus on correctional measures for the inmates. Earlier, the prisons were considered places for punishment. The new bill aims to make prisons more humane and change the mindset of the inmates so that they can go back and lead a new life in society again.”
The major focus of the bill is to connect the inmates with employment. “If this bill is passed, then the focus is to link the inmates with different industrial set-ups. For this, the inmates would be connected with skill development programmes,” another official from the prisons department said on the condition of anonymity.
In this bill, a provision has been made to make inmates aware of their rights. Special focus has been also given to strengthen security of jails through technologies and a central command centre at the district level, the official said.
Software systems, including a personal information system for recording information relating to inmates, will be incorporated by the department. Prison authorities will maintain electronic registers. CCTV cameras will be installed in work sheds, kitchens, high-security enclosures and main gates of prisons to prevent human rights violations, he said.
“In this bill, procedures have been made for a proper system for the visitors, canteen facilities, laundry, hygiene, quantification of leave, distribution of works, parole, children staying with mothers and the segregation of different criminals,” the official said.
The bill specifically describes the role of every official. In the present act, inspector general of prisons is the supreme authority but under the new bill, roles and powers of additional director general and director general are mentioned, he said.
“A special focus has been also laid on safety and reformation of women prisoners. Special programmes will be initiated aimed specifically to empower women inmates will skills so that they can become self-reliant after release. Health of women prisoners has also been recognised as a focus area.”
In the first week of February, the state government had overhauled the “archaic rules” for allotment of work to jail inmates based on their caste.
KOTA: The government’s JK Lon Hospital of Kota, which had been in news for infant deaths in last two years, has got an advanced Modular NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) worth ₹2.9 crore.
Principal of the Government Medical College of Kota, Dr Vijay Sardana said that JK Lon Hospital is the first mother and child care hospital in Rajasthan to have a Modular NICU. “Modular NICU has been developed in a short span of just 32 days and has all the latest gadgets,” he said. “There are 40 beds and 40 warmers, along with 19 ventilators and 8 kangaroo mother care chairs adjacent to the infant beds in NICU,” he added.
The hospital superintendent, Dr Ashok Mundra said that there is an additional wall over the actual wall with puffing between the two to check spread of seepage or any kind of infection in the medical unit. “There are 40 dedicated nursing employees and 14 medical officers for the unit,” said Dr Mundra, adding that the hospital administration has sought more staff for the unit.
Dr Amrita Mayangar, head of the pediatrics department at the hospital, said that the general ward has been transformed into the child care unit, which has 40-bed facility. “All arrangements in the medical unit have been made in such a fashion that there are minimal chances of any kind of infection,” he said.
A private firm, Dr Health Tech, has developed the medical unit. Rajat Jain of Dr Health Tech said that the project is a single turn-key project in which entire infrastructure and equipment will be laid by a single company. The company will also look after the maintenance work, Jain said.
The hospital had faced criticism after more than 100 infants had died in the hospital in December 2019 and nine infants had died in a single day in December 2020.
ON MARCH 27, 2019, MAN ABDUCTED THE GIRL WHILE SHE WAS RETURNING HOME FROM CLASSES