Indore man gets death for rape-murder of four-month-old baby
In what is probably the first application of India's new stringent rape laws, a 21-year-old man who raped and murdered a four-month-old baby in Indore has been sentenced to death. The judgement came in record quick time too, as the court pronounced the verdict within three weeks of the crime. The court found him guilty of kidnapping, rape and murder under the POCSO Act.
The brutal rape-murder of the baby
The accused kidnapped the baby, who was sleeping with her balloon-seller family on a porch in Rajwada, early morning on April 21. He was caught on CCTV cameras as he carried the baby out on his shoulder. Her blood-soaked body was later found in a basement. Police said she had an injury on her head as he had thrown her to the ground.
'Only want to meet mother, sister before being jailed': Accused
The accused was arrested the same day and produced before the Indore sessions court. It finished the hearing in just seven days and convicted him for the crime this morning. Before the quantum of punishment was announced, he said he "only want(ed) to meet (his) mother and sister for the last time before being sent to jail."
MP passed the Public Safety Bill last year
Last December, the MP assembly unanimously passed a bill proposing death penalty for rapists of girls aged 12 years or below. The Public Safety Bill provides strengthened protection to girls, especially children. If someone rapes a woman on the pretext of marriage, it will be treated as a cognizable crime. Repeated stalking can lead to fines of Rs. 1L.
Center approved death sentence for rapists last month
The Center also approved an amendment to anti-rape laws under the Indian Penal Code and POCSO last month. Now, rapists of children below 12 are punishable by death. It has also brought in stricter laws for all rapes, including longer prison sentences.
MP has seen an alarmingly high number of sexual crimes
MP has recorded an alarmingly high number of sexual crimes. In 2015, it registered 24,135 crimes against women. Of them, 4,391 were rapes, the highest among states. The same year, it saw 1,687 sexual offenses against children. In 2016, the figures increased: out of 26,604 crimes against women, 4,882 were rapes. Meanwhile, the conviction rate has remained at a mere 24-25% in recent years.
Will death penalty help control sexual crimes?
Punishment is just one factor that contributes to controlling crimes, especially in sensitive issues like rape. Police have often been accused of engaging in victim-blaming; in the Bhopal gangrape case, cops had initially refused to even file an FIR. Conviction rates are anyway low. There's no provision for psychological rehabilitation of victims either. Efforts have to be made to change mindsets in this patriarchal-culture.
