Complete rape, POCSO case probes in 2 months: Prasad

Patna/panaji, December 8

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Sunday said he would write to chief ministers and high court chief justices of all the states to complete investigation into cases of rape and those registered under the POCSO Act in two months.

Trial of such cases should also be completed within six months, the Union Law and Justice Minister said in Patna. “I am going to write letters to all the chief ministers urging them to complete the investigation within two months in rape and POCSO cases,” Prasad told reporters.

Incidents of rape and crimes against women are unfortunate and highly condemnable, Prasad said.

“I will also write to the chief justices of all the High Courts to dispose of expeditiously all cases relating to rape and POCSO pending in the fast-track courts,” he said. Prasad’s comment came in the backdrop of nationwide outrage over the alleged rape and murder cases at Hyderabad and Unnao. Union Minister Shripad Naik has expressed the need for strict implementation of laws to punish rapists.

When asked about recent incidents in Unnao and Hyderabad, he said, "Cases are being reported from across the country. There is a need for strict implementation of existing laws". He was speaking in Vasco in Goa on the sidelines of a function.

“Laws should be implemented strictly so as to instill fear in the minds of such criminals. There is a demand to give more tooth to laws and the Central government is considering it," the Union Minister of State for Defence said. — PTI

35-yr-old attacked by stalker on bail dies

Korba: A 35-year-old woman from Chhattisgarh has succumbed to her injuries she had sustained after a stalker, who was arrested earlier for shooting her obscene video, attacked her with a sickle on December 6, police said on Sunday. The accused, Indrapal Tonde (40), was on bail when he slashed the woman’s neck near Budhwari Bajrang chowk in Korba when she was on her way to work. “The woman was shifted from a Korba hospital to Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Sciences in Bilaspur district on Saturday evening,” said SP Jitendra Singh Meena.  The woman had sustained grievous injuries on her neck and face in the attack. PTI

Mother ‘helps 3 men rape’ 12-yr-old girl 

• Three persons were arrested in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar district for allegedly raping a minor girl repeatedly over a year, while the victim’s mother, who abetted the crime, is absconding, the police said on Sunday
• The incident took place in Bhutiya village in Palitana taluka and an FIR was lodged on Saturday, an official said, adding that the victim was 12 years old
• “The victim’s father filed a case alleging the three men repeatedly raped his daughter over a year and that his wife had abetted the crime. The victim has told us that her father used to be fed something due to which he would pass out, after which the accused would rape her,” he said. PTI