President gives assent to Telangana bill to tackle sexual-offenders, cybercrimes
What's the story
President Ram Nath Kovind has given assent to a bill which will help tackle sexual offenders, cybercriminals, and traditional unlawful acts in Telangana, officials said.
The Telangana Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers, Dacoits, Drug-Offenders, Goondas, Immoral Traffic Offenders, and Land-Grabbers (Amendment) Bill, 2017 will replace 1986 Act which had jurisdiction for undivided Andhra Pradesh but couldn't punish offenders of present-day white-collar crimes.
Information
Amended Act has provisions to punish sexual offenders, arms smugglers
The legislation is one of the showpiece laws of the outgoing K Chandrashekar-led TRS government which faces Assembly elections soon. The amended Act has provisions to punish sexual offenders, explosive substances offenders, arms smugglers, cyber fraudsters, and white-collar or financial offenders, an official said.
Provisions
What are the provisions in the amended Act?
Through the amendment, the Telangana Government has included provisions under which selling of spurious seeds, insecticides, fertilizers, adulteration of food, making of fake documents, unauthorized selling of forest products and gambling are punishable crimes.
Provisions against common and traditional crimes like dangerous activities, bootlegging, dacoity, drug trafficking, immoral trafficking, and land-grabbing will continue to be part of the amended Act.
Information
Old legislation has no scope to check cyber-frauds, sexual harassment
There was no scope in the old legislation to check cyber frauds, sexual harassment, online gambling, and fake certificates cases, which are common nowadays, another official said. The amendment has provisions to deal with all these crimes, the official added.