Madhya Pradesh govt gives nod to amendment bill for death penalty for child rapists

Madhya Pradesh is considered to be one of the most unsafe places for women.

Bhopal: In a landmark move, the Madhya Pradesh Cabinet on Sunday approved handing out death sentence to rape convicts in cases involving girls of 12 years and below.

The Cabinet also passed a resolution for death sentence for gang-rape convicts and approved the amendment in the penal code to increase the fine and punishment for rape convicts.

Once cleared by the assembly, the bill for capital punishment for rape of girls aged 12 or below will be sent to the Centre which will send it to the President for his approval.

The move comes after multiple cases of sexual violence against girl child and women surfaced in the state.

A differently-abled girl was allegedly raped in Damoh in Madhya Pradesh on Friday. 

Earlier in November, the director of a centre for differently-abled children in Khandwa was arrested for allegedly raping two minors.

Also, a 12-year-old girl was found dead at her residence in a semi-naked state in Dewas in Madhya Pradesh on November 05.

The incident had come days after a 19-year-old daughter of a police couple was gang-raped by four men in the capital city of the state.

The incident caused much furore on the social media. The four men allegedly tied the girl and took turns to sexually assault her.

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data for 2015, released in August last year, showed that Madhya Pradesh reported the highest number of rape cases (4,391) in the country.

According to the NCRB data for 2014, the state reported 5,076 rape cases, which was 14 percent of the total rape incidents reported in the country.

In 2013, 4,335 rape cases were reported in the state as against 3,425 in 2012. 

(With ANI and PTI inputs)