Madhya Pradesh: Convicts Sentenced to Death in 12 Rape Cases This Year
The convictions came after the state government passed the legislation approving death penalty for raping minors of the age 12 or below in December last year.
Bhopal, Aug 21: Courts in Madhya Pradesh have awarded death penalties in 12 cases of rape in 2018 so far. The convictions came after the state government passed the legislation approving death penalty for raping minors of the age 12 or below in December last year.
The latest verdict of capital punishment came in the Mandsaur rape case, where two youths have been convicted for a brutal sexual assault on an 8-year-old minor. The case had drawn parallels with the Nirbhaya rape-murder case of 2012.
The conviction in Mandsaur case came a day after a sessions court in Sagar district sentenced a 22-year-old man to death for raping and murdering a 14-year-old minor.
Here are other cases of rape convictions recorded since April 2018, when the Capital Punishment Ordinance was enforced.
- May 12: Court sentenced 26-year-old man in Indore to death for raping and killing his nephew's four-month-old girl.
- May 13: In Shahdol, a 33-year-old man was awarded capital punishment after being convicted of rape and murder of a 4-year-old.
- May 17: A local court in Dhar district sentenced a 19-year-old youth to death for raping and killing a 4-year-old minor.
- July 7: Special court in Rehli of Sagar district sentenced 40-year-old man to death for raping a 9-year-old girl at a temple.
- July 27: Special court in Gwalior district sentenced 25-year-old ice cream-seller for raping and murdering a 6-year-old girl.
- July 27: On the same day, a special court in Katni district awarded capital punishment to a 33-year-old auto-rickshaw driver sexually assaulting a 5-year-old school girl.
While the state government has lauded the prosecution for ensuring swift justice, a section of the civil society has raised apprehensions over the ordinance which enforces death penalty. Detractors of the move claim that the rapist may end up murdering the victim as the punishment for both the crimes have been brought to par.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 21, 2018 05:54 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).