Kejriwal demands death penalty for rape of minors
New Delhi, April 15: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday demanded death penalty for those raping minors and also blasted the BJP for defending its MLA accused of raping a teenager in Uttar Pradesh.
While visiting the Rajghat where Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chairperson Swati Maliwal's fast on the same issue entered the third day, Kejriwal said his government was ready to make amendments to the existing law to ensure death penalty to rapists of minors.
He urged the Delhi High Court to inform his government about the number of fast-track courts, judges and money needed for the purpose.
"As soon as the Delhi High Court tells us, we will provide the money. We want women to remain safe in Delhi."
Maliwal launched her protest on Friday in the wake of the horrific rape incidents in Unnao in Uttar Pradesh, for which a BJP MLA has been detained, and in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir where a girl was abducted, gang-raped and murdered.
Kejriwal said Maliwal wanted death penalty for rapists of minors and that their trial should get over in six months.
"In the next Delhi Assembly session we will bring amendments to the IPC and CrPC that in case of rape of a minor, the rapist must get death penalty and the trial should be completed within six months.
"In the last three years, the Delhi Assembly has brought many legislation but the Centre has not cleared a single of them."
Kejriwal said he came to Rajghat to promote the safety of women in Delhi and elsewhere in the country.
"There should be a system so that nobody dares to rape. I came here to demand a system which ensures women's safety."
He applauded Maliwal for her hunger strike. "I am not here to support her. She is fighting for our safety."
He slammed the Central and Uttar Pradesh governments and police for trying to protect the MLA accused of raping a girl in Unnao.
"What message are we giving to the people? If a BJP MLA or supporter rapes, nothing will happen to him. The whole BJP party, from top to bottom, and whole machinery will protect that person," Kejriwal said.
"In Jammu and Kashmir, an eight-year-old girl was gang-raped inside a temple. They (BJP) say they are Hindus. They are a shame on Hinduism. The rapists have defiled the temple," he added.
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Pakistan reports two more polio cases; Total tally now 52
ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.
“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.
The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.
Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.
