New Delhi: Punjab government favours death sentence in brutal rape cases, state DGP S S Saini said on Friday.
"Government of Punjab is of the view that in brutal rape cases and cases of gangrape death sentence should be given...Let the court decide which case deserves the highest punishment," he told reporters here today.
The Punjab DGP had come to attend a day-long conference of Chief Secretaries and DGPs.
The officials discussed threadbare various ways to check crime against women and agreed to take steps for protection of women and initiating speedy trial and conviction of criminals.
However, despite day-long deliberations the Central and state governments today failed to evolve a consensus on death penalty for rape convicts even as they seem to have agreed on the definition of juvenile by bringing down the age bar to 16 from 18 years.
"There is no consensus on amending the law to include capital punishment for rape. One or two chief secretaries have suggested but majority kept mum on the issue," a senior officer, who attended the meeting, said.
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said all suggestions, including death penalty for rape, put forward by the Chief Secretaries and DGPs would be considered by the central government.
PTI
First Published: Friday, January 04, 2013, 23:38