Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee government plans to present a new anti-rape bill in the West Bengal Assembly on Tuesday. The bill titled ‘Aparajita Woman and Child Bill (West Bengal Criminal Laws and Amendment) Bill 2024’ talks about the strategies for the protection of women and children from sexual violence, especially proposing the death penalty for rapists if the crime leads to the death of the victim or if she remains in a comatose state.
Other than this, the bill passed by Mamata Banerjee also advocates for life imprisonment for anyone found guilty of the offense of rape or gang rape to ensure that the perpetrators spend the rest of their natural life in prison. This new draft seeks to improve the laws to protect women and juniors by amending the current laws as well as coming up with new provisions that touch on rape and sexual assault.
The ‘Aparajita Bill’ will also amend a few major enactments, such as the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023, and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012, in so far as they apply to the State of West Bengal. The aim of these amendments is, however, to raise some of these penalties and to set a more thorough approach towards the investigation and the trial of other grave offences against women and children.
The draft bill outlines the purpose of the bill, and a major one is “to help reduce the risks of victimization of women and children” in the said state. It shows that the government treasures the core values of the people, especially women and children, and ensures that those who perpetuate the terrible acts of rape and acts of sexual violence are punished severely.
The lawmaking move has been made as a recent state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital woman medic was raped and murdered last month. Therefore, to remedy this situation a two-day special session of the assembly has been called.
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