Indian state passes law seeking death penalty for rapists after rape and murder of doctor
An Indian state, shaken by weeks of protests demanding justice after the rape and murder of a doctor, passed a law on Tuesday that could lead to the execution of rapists.
Protests erupted in West Bengal last month to demand justice for a doctor who was brutally raped and killed at a state-run hospital in the local capital of Kolkata, and to call for an end to violence against women in India.
The 31-year-old doctor’s body was found with multiple injuries on Aug. 9 in a lecture hall at the city’s R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, where the woman had gone to rest during a night shift when she was attacked. An autopsy confirmed sexual assault and multiple injuries sustained before she died. It also suggested she resisted and may have been tortured before being murdered.
sparked strikes by medics and rallies backed by thousands of ordinary citizens across India, although many doctors have since returned to work.
Debarchan Chatterjee/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Protests in West Bengal have since transformed into clashes between rival political party loyalists, including the ruling All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The Hindu-nationalist BJP holds power nationally but sits in opposition in West Bengal. It and the AITC both backed the new state law.
The gruesome nature of the attack has invoked comparisons with the horrific 2012 gang rape and murder of a young woman on a bus in the capital Delhi.
The 2012 incident became a major political issue and was seen as one factor in the BJP’s subsequent success in elections.
Death penalties in India are often stalled by years of appeals. Executions are usually carried out by hanging.
contributed to this report.
Source: cbsnews.com