28 get death penalty for rape in MP in last 2 years: Official

Amid outrage across the country over a series of horrific rape incidents, a senior Madhya Pradesh government official on Monday said 28 people have been sentenced to death in the past two years for rape in the state.

A 23-year-old woman from Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district was set afire by five men, including two of her alleged rapists, on Thursday morning, and succumbed to burn injuries on Friday night.

The incident came days after the gang-rape and murder of a young veterinary doctor in Hyderabad that sparked national outrage.

"In 2018, nineteen cases of rape and murder were reported. Out of which, 18 cases were related to minors. Culprits in all 19 cases got capital punishment. Death sentences were awarded in nine rape cases in 2019," Director General (Prosecution) Purushottam Sharma told reporters.

Madhya Pradesh Prosecution Department, based in Bhopal, has got an entry in the World Book of Records, London due to fast-tracking of rape cases in 2018, Sharma said.

"The Madhya Pradesh Prosecution Department has three- layered system, which includes monitoring by the DG of the department. A help desk set up at the district level provides assistance to witnesses of such cases to depose strongly in the court," he said.

Sharma said, in a case of rape of a minor in Katni, the prosecution had completed the legal process and the culprit was sentenced to death within five days.