J&K cabinet approves death penalty for child rape

The move comes three days after the Union cabinet approved similar punishment for child rape convicts in the wake of the uproar over the rape and murder of an eight-year-old Bakerwal girl in Kathua.

Written by Arun Sharma | Jammu |Published: April 25, 2018 8:19PM

The Jammu and Kashmir cabinet on Tuesday approved death penalty for those convicted of raping children. The move comes three days after the Union cabinet approved similar punishment for child rape convicts in the wake of the uproar over the rape and murder of an eight-year-old Bakerwal girl in Kathua.

The Mehbooba Mufti-led cabinet approved two ordinances —Jammu and Kashmir Criminal Law Ordinance, 2018, and Jammu and Kashmir Protection of Children from Sexual Violence Ordinance, 2018 — seeking to amend the Ranbir Penal Code and Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act. These ordinances provide for life term or death for rape of a girl up to 12 years of age, Minister for Law and Justice Abdul Haq Khan told the media. In case of rape of girls between 13 and 16 years, the sentence will be 20 years or life, he added. Khan said that investigation in cases of rape will be conducted by a woman police officer and completed within two months. Trial will be held in-camera. Courts will have to complete trial in six months.

Minor raped in Poonch
Police in the border district of Poonch on Tuesday registered a case of against two youths, aged 24 and 27 years, for allegedly raping a minor girl. The girl reportedly had gone to school, when the accused took her to an isolated place and raped her.