MPs express concern over rising rapes, atrocities on women

Lok Sabha MPs today stressed on strict punishment for rape, including for juveniles, as they expressed concern over rising atrocities on women, on the third anniversary of Delhi gangrape that had shook the nation.
Raising the issue during zero hour, P K Sreemathi Teacher (CPI-M) said as per the National Crime Research Bureau (NCRB), 20 major cities in India are unsafe for women and children.
According to the NCRB, as many as 93 women are raped every day and there is a gradual increase in the number of rapes reported.
"In 2014, India recorded 36,735 rape cases, almost 3,000 of which were in Delhi. There is one rape in every 30 minutes. This is all official statistics. But majority of the rape cases in India are never reported especially from rural and tribal areas," she said.

Hema Malini (BJP) said the juvenile involved in the Delhi rape case should be treated as an adult and punished as an adult.
"By sending him to a rehabilitation centre, it is not going to happen that he will become all right because he has a devilish mind. Even if he comes out after 30 or 40 years, he is going to do the same," she remarked.

Meenakshi Lekhi (BJP) made a strong plea for lowering the juvenile age from 18 to 16 contending that age of sexual maturity has come down in the last 15 years when it was raised to 18.

Six persons including a juvenile, had brutally assaulted and raped a 23-year-old girl in a moving bus in south Delhi on December 16, 2012. The victim had succumbed to her injuries in a Singapore hospital on December 29, 2012.
Mukesh, Vinay, Pawan and Akshay were awarded death penalty by a trial court which was later confirmed by Delhi High Court. Their appeals are pending before the Supreme Court.
Accused Ram Singh had allegedly committed suicide in Tihar Jail on March 11, 2013, and proceedings against him were abated following his death.
The Centre had earlier this week asked Delhi High Court to extend the observation home stay of the juvenile convict who is scheduled to be released on Sunday, saying several mandatory aspects were missing from the post-release rehabilitation plan which needed to be considered before setting him free.