Strict action in such cases: Kejriwal after recommending rejection of Nirbhaya convict's mercy petition

A day after Delhi government recommended rejecting the mercy petition of a convict in Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said that strict action should be taken in such cases to set an example.

"I think there should be strict actions in such cases so that people think 10 times before doing something like this. This is why the Delhi government recommended that the President should not show any leniency in this case," Kejriwal told reporters here.

The Chief Minister said that several brutal cases of rape and murder are coming up across the country.

"This is not only a failure of law and order but of enforcement as well," Kejriwal said.

"In the Nirbhaya case, the entire country had come out on roads. It has been several years since the incident. It is very saddening that the procedure took this long," he added.

Kejriwal said that it is saddening that the judicial procedure took so long to conclude.

"There is anger among the people of the country. We have to come together and do our part to tackle this issue. This cannot go on any longer," he said.

Delhi government had, on Sunday, recommended the rejection of the mercy petition of one of the convicts in the gangrape and murder case of a 23-year-old paramedic student on the intervening night of December 16 and 17 in 2012.