Indian state plans death sentence for rapists of girls under 12

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A string of rape cases – eight in just six days – in the northern Indian state of Haryana has led to a massive public outcry, forcing the chief minister of the state to announce capital punishment to those found guilty of raping girls below 12 years of age.

Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar, under pressure from opposition parties and protests from locals. said, "A law would be enacted soon to hang those convicted of raping a girl aged 12 or younger".

Khattar also advised media to refrain from creating any hype while reporting incidents of rape without verifying the facts.

The alleged brutal rapes in the state have involved minor girls as young as three years old.

In Hisar district, a 15-year-old boy was arrested for allegedly raping a three-and-a-half-year-old girl on January 18.

On January 14, police arrested a 50-year-old man for allegedly mutilating and inserting a wooden stick in the private parts of a 10-year-old girl.

A day earlier, an 11-year-old Dalit girl was gang-raped and murdered by two neighbors. On the same day, the half-naked body of a 15-year-old girl was found near a canal in a village in Jind district.

Dalit women and people from different organisations clash with police during a protest against the rise of rape cases of Dalit women in Haryana, outside the residence of former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on May 11, 2017. /VCG Photo

A 22-year-old woman was gang-raped in a moving car for more than two hours, while a 20-year-old married woman was allegedly gang-raped by her neighbors on January 18.

According to India's National Crime Record Bureau, crimes against women in India have spiraled with a 12-percent rise in the number of rape cases on an annual basis. In 2015, 34,651 cases of rapes were reported, the number increased to 38,947 in 2016.

Ayesha Kidwai, a professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), told CGTN that capital punishment to rapists is not a solution but a move to instigate patriarchal revenge.

"Capital punishment is not a deterrent for rapists but a speedy trial, and higher conviction rates in such crimes are needed," she said.

"Capital punishment is also likely to trigger crime against child rape victims. The accused or their relatives will tend to harass or wipe out the eyewitness. And in rape cases, the victim is the prime eyewitness".

Women's rights activists in India have been demanding speedy trials and conviction of offenders for over a decade.

India’s leading opposition party, the Indian National Congress, demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi break his silence on the series of rape cases in Haryana. Party leaders also termed the state as the “rape capital” of India.