After the rape-murder case of a trainee doctor in Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital, there is outrage not only in West Bengal but in the entire country. Doctors are continuously protesting about the security arrangements, while politics is also going on in this matter. West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee had said in an event that her government will make an anti-rape law, so that the accused in such cases get death penalty. Mamata government has passed the anti-rape bill on Tuesday.
Anti-rape bill passed in West Bengal Assembly
This bill was passed during the special session of West Bengal Assembly on Tuesday. The most important point of this bill is the death penalty for the rape convict within seven days. On one hand, a debate has started about how fair this bill is and will the quality of justice not come under question after such bills become law?
Along with these questions, examples of such cases are also being sought when the courts heard rape cases at a very fast pace and gave the verdict in the least number of days. Although after this the cases did go to the top courts, but it is also a big thing in itself that the sessions courts and lower courts paid special attention to the speed in hearing these cases. In these cases, the case of Araria in Bihar is a record in itself when the court sentenced an accused of raping a minor to life imprisonment in just one day of proceedings.
What was the story of this whole case
A POCSO (Protection of Child Sexual Abuse) court in Bihar’s Araria district sentenced a man to life imprisonment for raping an eight-year-old girl in just one day of proceedings. The case was of the year 2021. This verdict was considered as the fastest verdict given by any POCSO court in the country.
Special POCSO court judge Shashi Kant Rai had also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the convict and ordered a compensation of Rs 7 lakh for the rehabilitation of the victim. Though the order was passed on October 4, the order sheet related to the case was made available on November 26. The girl was raped on July 22, 2021 and an FIR was registered the next day. The case was investigated by Rita Kumari, in-charge of Araria Mahila Police Station.
The fastest proceeding case
Speaking to the media, POCSO Public Prosecutor Shyamlal Yadav said, “This case in Araria was one of the fastest rape trials in the country. It broke the record of a court in Datia district of Madhya Pradesh, which had disposed of a rape case in three days in August 2018.” The court quickly completed the recording of witnesses and arguments, and convicted the accused and pronounced the verdict in a single day.
Where is the accused in the case now?
Accused Dilip Kumar Yadav is currently lodged in Araria jail. Dilip’s bail plea has been rejected by the High Court and he has been asked to go to the lower court but the bail plea has not been filed yet. Currently, Dilip is working during his jail term and preparing the foundation for good conduct. Convicted Dilip is a resident of Khaira Gadhiya of Narpatganj.
Some other speedy trial cases which remained in discussion
Rape case in Datia, Madhya Pradesh (August 2018)
The second big case of speedy trial is from Datia in Madhya Pradesh. In this case, which came to light in August 2018, the district court had settled the rape case after just three days of hearing. After this, the case of Araria in Bihar, which came to light in 2021, became a record in the matter of speedy trial.
Pratapgarh (September 2022): The POCSO court had given its verdict in just 10 days
A record was also made in Pratapgarh, UP for speedy trial. In September 2022, the POCSO court sentenced the rape accused to life imprisonment (spent jail till the last breath) within just 10 days. It was called the historic decision of Pratapgarh POCSO Court. Special Judge POCSO Court Pankaj Kumar sentenced the rape accused to life imprisonment (till death) within 10 days. The court also imposed a fine of 20 thousand on the convict Bhupendra Singh. The convict Bhupendra Singh had raped a 6-year-old innocent girl in Nagar Kotwali area on 12 August 2022.
March 2013: Bhopal rape-murder case, death sentence in just 9 days
In Madhya Pradesh’s capital Bhopal, the accused of rape and murder was sentenced to death by the sessions court in just 9 days. The case of the accused Nand Kishore went to the court of District and Sessions Judge Sushma Khosla. The body of the innocent girl was found in a mutilated condition near the residence of the state’s Home Minister Umashankar Gupta. The body of the daughter of a labourer family living in the capital’s Banganga area was found near Home Minister Gupta’s house on February 4. The post-mortem report confirmed that the girl was raped and then murdered. The hearing of this case was completed on March 13 and government advocate Rajesh Giri demanded death penalty for the accused.
Rape of a 5-year-old girl in Rajasthan: The court had pronounced the death sentence in 26 days
A case of rape of a 5-year-old girl came to light in Rajasthan. In this, the court sentenced the culprit to death in 26 days of proceedings. The case is of the year 2021. The culprit had raped a five-year-old girl. While pronouncing the sentence on Wednesday, the judge of the POCSO court told the culprit that during the hearing, not even once did I see remorse in you, if you had repented, then your sentence could have been different. This incident was from Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan.
This incident took place on 19 February 2021 in Sheoranon Ki Dhani under Pilani police station in Rajasthan. At around 5:30 in the evening, the five-year-old innocent was playing with her siblings in the field. Meanwhile, the accused Sunil Kumar (20) came on a scooty and kidnapped the innocent. After the court’s decision, the girl’s father had said in a conversation with the media – Today our daughter has got justice. She has been scared since the incident. She has suffered a lifetime of pain. No one can reduce the pain of which.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)