Those who rape minors must get death penalty: Sushma

New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushma Swaraj on Saturday expressed shock over the brutal rape of a five-year-old in the national capital, saying that those who rape minors must get death penalty.

"This is a sickening mentality that is emerging now. The new (anti-rape) law that has been passed needs new provisions. First, those who rape minors should get death penalty," she said. "Secondly, the brutality of the rape should also be taken into account. Once a few hangings take place, hopefully people like these would get scared. And don`t take months for action; it should be immediate," she added. "I am terribly shocked to know about the details of the rape of a 5-year-old child in Delhi. She should be shifted to AIIMS immediately," Sushma earlier twitted. She said that she had thought that after December 16, 2012 gang-rape incident in the national capital, things will change but it is unfortunate, the situation has worsened. BJP leader Najma Heptullah said there is a need to bring about a change in the attitude, and called for proper police reforms "When a law is made, the most important thing is to implement them. When we spoke about this, we also said that there is need to bring about change in the attitude. The first and the foremost duty is of the police forces. There should be proper police reforms," she said. Meanwhile, the doctor treating the five-year-old rape victim at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here today said that the girl is stable and is responding to medical treatment. Briefing the media, Medical Superintendent Dr. B.K. Sharma said that the child is on IV fluids and is being closely monitored. "We have constituted a team of eight doctors who are attending to her, she is under close monitoring," he said. Sharma further said that the child`s vitals are within normal limits and she is responding to antibiotics. The girl was abducted on April 15 and kept hostage in a flat owned by the attacker. He lived on the ground floor of the building in East Delhi`s Gandhi Nagar, in which the victim`s family also stayed. The girl was rescued when members of her family heard her scream on Wednesday evening. Meanwhile, the accused, Manoj Kumar, was arrested from Muzaffarpur in Bihar this morning. He was arrested by a team from Delhi with the help of local police. ANI