0.1637
900 319 0030
x

Hyderabad Veterinarian Rape Case

iasparliament Logo
December 04, 2019

Why in news?

  • A 26-year-old woman veterinarian was recently raped and killed in Hyderabad.
  • This has led to an outpouring of anger across the country and in Parliament.

What happened?

  • On her scooter developing a problem, she called up her sister when a lorry driver offered help and told her that she was scared by the presence of some drivers.
  • She died of asphyxiation while being raped as the killers gagged and smothered her.
  • Four lorry workers, arrested on charges of raping and killing her, were kept in solitary confinement.
  • Protests rocked Hyderabad demanding speedy justice.

What was the demand made in parliament?

  • Several MPs questioned the adequacy of criminal laws and the judicial system in this regard.
  • As, the current provisions permit under-age convicts to get away with lenient punishment.
  • Others are sentenced to death only to escape through mercy petitions.
  • Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said that the government was ready to make more stringent provisions in law.

What are the existing provisions?

  • The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act was passed in 2013.
  • This came after the 2012 Nirbhaya outrage in Delhi and the following recommendations made by Justice J.S. Verma Committee.
  • It brought changes to -
  1. the Indian Penal Code
  2. the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
  3. the Indian Evidence Act, 1872
  4. the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012
  • Key amendments were brought in to provide for death penalty for rape that led to death of the victim or reduced the survivor to a persistent vegetative state.
  • It also applied to anyone found guilty of rape more than once.
  • In 2018, further changes introduced death as the maximum punishment for every perpetrator in a gang-rape when the victim is less than 12 years.
  • Life-long imprisonment was given if the victim is less than 16 years.

What happened in the Delhi case?

  • In the Delhi case, a fast-track trial court sentenced four to death in September 2013.
  • However, the only juvenile accused was freed after a short period at a remand home.
  • The Supreme Court dismissed their appeals against conviction in 2017.
  • Two years on, the convicts have filed curative petitions in the court and one has already written to the President of India for clemency.

What are the recent incidents?

  • After the Nirbhaya incident, the UNHR chief had called rape and violence against women in India a “national problem” which would need “national solutions”.
  • Unfortunately, in the recent weeks too, rapes and assault have been reported from Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
  • The National Crime Records Bureau which released its 2017 data recently said a total of 3.59 lakh cases of crimes against women were reported.
  • It noted that there was a 6% rise compared to 2016.
  • Of the above, assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty comprised 21.7%, and rape 7%.

What do these call for?

  • For every rape reported, there are many which go unrecorded given the patriarchal mindsets in the society.
  • A suggestion by an MP that rapists “must be brought out in public and lynched” is hardly the answer.
  • Better policing, fast-track courts, quick sentencing are the need of the hour as each can serve as a deterrent.
  • Public places must be made safer for all.
  • But besides these, a sustainable measure would be to include gender sensitisation in every curriculum, right from school.
  • Boys and girls should be raised right in an atmosphere of freedom and a culture of mutual respect.

 

Source: The Hindu

Login or Register to Post Comments
There are no reviews yet. Be the first one to review.

ARCHIVES

MONTH/YEARWISE ARCHIVES

Free UPSC Interview Guidance Programme