The Madhya Pradesh assembly unanimously passed a bill on Monday, punishing rapists of girls below the age of twelve with hanging until death. The bill was initially approved by the Chief Minister of the state about a week ago, and now the bill will go to the President of India for its final approval.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan gave a few details of the bill in which he said that stalking will now be a non-bailable offence and stalkers will be punished.
People who rape innocent 12-year-old girls are not humans but devils. Such people have no right to live.Shivraj Singh Chouhan
State Home Minister Bhupinder Singh appreciated the decision taken by the assembly.
It was a historic day for Madhya Pradesh as the state Assembly, as per the wish of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, passed a bill making a provision to award capital punishment to those indulging in such crimes.Bhupinder Singh
This bill comes after the Bhopal gangrape case, where a 19-year-old UPSC aspirant was allegedly raped when she was returning home from a coaching institute on 31 October in Bhopal.
According to the NCRB data for 2014, the state reported 5,076 rape cases, which was 14 percent of the total rape incidents reported in the country.
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.Shivraj Singh Chouhan
(With inputs from ANI, Indian Express and Zee News.)
(Breathe In, Breathe Out: Are you finding it tough to breathe polluted air? Join hands with FIT to find #PollutionKaSolution. Send in your suggestions to fit@thequint.com or WhatsApp @ +919999008335)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)