KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding stringent central legislation with exemplary punishment for perpetrators of rape, a senior official said here.
Alapan Bandopadhyay, Chief Advisor to the West Bengal Chief Minister, read the letter at a press conference.
Banerjee, also the Trinamool Congress supremo, wrote the letter in the backdrop of countrywide protests over the alleged rape and murder of a woman doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata earlier this month.
Noting the regular occurrence of rape cases throughout the country, Banerjee highlighted that, according to available data, nearly 90 rape cases occur daily.
"In many cases, rape victims were murdered. It is horrifying to see this trend. It shakes the confidence and conscience of society and the nation. It is our bounden duty to put an end to it so that women feel safe and secure," the letter read.
"Such a serious and sensitive issue needs to be addressed comprehensively through stringent central legislation that prescribes exemplary punishment for those involved in these dastardly crimes," she said.
Banerjee also proposed the establishment of fast-track special courts for speedy trials in these cases.
"To ensure quick justice, trials should preferably be completed within 15 days," she suggested.
The move comes hours after Supreme Court came down heavily on the state machinery for lapses in the investigation into the alleged rape and murder of the doctor trainee at RG Kar hospital, including a delay in filing FIR.