Death penalty for rapists of minors: Karnataka mulls new anti-rape law

BENGALURU: Karnataka Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy on Sunday said that the state government is planning to frame a law which will enable capital punishment to rapists of minor girls.

Officials have been asked to seek details of a similar law that was passed by Madhya Pradesh state government on December 4.

The government had passed the bill dealing with death sentence for convicts of rape and gang-rape involving girls of 12 years or less. State CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan also said repeated stalking will be made a non-bailable offense.

In a country where rape incidents are one of the highest, there has been a growing demand for harsher punishment. Taking cue, the MP government passed the said bill which awards 'hanged till death' for convicts of rape and gang-rape of minor girls below 12 years of age. 

"Those who rape 12-year-old girls are not human beings but demons. They have no right to live," said CM Chouhan. "Repeated stalking too will be a non-bailable offence and offenders will be punished."

The state may have taken steps towards stern action against those accused of rape but CM Chouhan earlier faced criticism after the Bhopal gang-rape incident. 

A 19-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped for three hours by four men in the state capital early November. The four men allegedly tied the girl and took turns to sexually assault her. The accused, as per the reports, even took tea and gutkha breaks before returning to repeatedly rape her.

The victim's mother is a police constable, while her father is associated with Railway Protection Force (RPF).

CM Chouhan had ordered a SIT probe into the incident and four police officials were suspended. However, the incident was termed as a blot on the state government by many including political rivals.