Andhra Pradesh, December 12: The state Assembly has passed Andhra Pradesh Disha Bill 2019 (Andhra Pradesh Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2019). The Bill provides for awarding death sentence for offenses of rape and gang rape and expediting verdict in trials of such cases within 21 days. On Thursday, the Andhra Pradesh state cabinet, under the leadership of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy approved the bill.

The development is on the back of the rape and murder of the 26-year-old veterinary which shook the entire nation. The victim's charred body was found near Shadnagar town. Within a few days, all four allegedly accused in the crime were killed in an encounter by the Telangana Police. They were gunned down at the same spot where the accused had dumped the victim's body. Disha Act Passed by Andhra Pradesh Cabinet Mandates Death Penalty as Maximum Punishment For Rape, YSRCP Women MLAs Tie Rakhi to CM Jaganmohan Reddy, Know All About the Act.

Check ANI tweet:

In order to protect and respect the identity of the deceased veterinary, Hyderabad police Cyberabad changed the victim's name to Disha. They further requested others to use the name Disha on social media as well as in media coverage.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 13, 2019 03:38 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).