VIJAYAWADA: Stating that his government will come up with a revolutionary law to deal with perpetrators of crimes against women and children, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday indicated that a Bill to ensure stringent punishment to culprits within 21 days, if there is conclusive evidence, would be tabled in the House on Wednesday.
During a short discussion on ‘security of women in the State’ in the Assembly, Jagan said he was pained at the incidents of crime against women and children and decided to bring a Bill to ensure speedy justice to victims wherever there is conclusive evidence.
Referring to the brutal rape and murder of a veterinary doctor in Telangana, the Chief Minister said, “The incident caused me extreme agony and left me contemplating the quick measures to be taken by police and government should such an incident happen in our State.’’
“I am also a father of two daughters. If anything happens to them, as a father, how should I respond and what kind of punishment to the perpetrators would give relief to me?’’ he mused.
Indirectly referring to the ‘encounter’ killing of the accused in the Disha case, Jagan said, “Hats off to KCR garu and Telangana police. I am saying this from the floor of the House.’’
Stating that the encounter took place in unfortunate circumstances, he found fault with the manner in which the National Human Rights Commission responded.
“When a police officer kills a criminal in an encounter in a movie, audience clap and cheer. The movie will be a big hit. But what is happening in real life when someone with guts gives such a punishment? The NHRC came rushing from Delhi and is questioning the police there,’’ he said.
Mincing no words, he said the existing laws failed to give justice to rape victims or their families.“Though the Nirbhaya Act mandates delivery of justice within four months, the family members of the girl are making rounds of courts even after seven years of the gruesome crime.
“In such a situation, everyone expects immediate justice. But, that is not happening. No one would welcome shooting down of perpetrators, but when there is no immediate justice, one loses faith in the criminal justice system and, in such a scenario, if an accused is shot dead, people hail police officers as heroes,’’ he maintained.
“When there is conclusive evidence, like in the Disha case, where the video footage nailed the accused, we need to think how to deliver speedy justice,” he said.
Stating that his government will be bringing in a revolutionary Bill in the Assembly on Wednesday, the CM said that investigation into such cases should be completed in a week during which time collection of scientific evidence through DNA tests could be completed. “Within two weeks, trial should be completed. The entire investigation and trial should be completed within 21 working days and accused should be brought to book. By speedy disposal of cases, we can put the fear of capital punishment in the hearts of criminals,’’ he asserted.
He stressed the need for setting up courts in each and every district to exclusively deal with crimes against women and children. “There is also a need to regulate social media and advent of smartphones has given people unlimited access to pornography. Any effort, including blocking of sites, to curb it is proving ineffective. We will discuss all these things on Wednesday.”
Speaking on his government’s initiatives to bring down crimes against women, Jagan said they started implementing Zero FIR, cracked the whip on permit rooms and belt shops in the State. “When a person consumes alcohol, he will lose control over his senses. When a group of individuals consume alcohol together, their thought process might change and they might get evil ideas. That is why we have removed 43,000 belt shops,’’ he said.
Earlier during the debate, he took a dig at TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu for reading out a list of crimes against women in the past six months, instead of giving suggestions for enacting a tough legislation. Jagan also took potshots at Pawan Kalyan for marrying three times. Welcoming the decision to come up with a legislation to deal with the cases of crime against women, N Chandrababu Naidu felt that there will be no use of laws unless the government doesn’t make sincere efforts for their effective implementation.
Assembly session till December 17
The winter session of the Assembly will be held up to December 17 with seven working days. A decision in this regard was taken at the BAC meeting held under the chairmanship of Speaker Tammineni Sitaram on Monday