Will pass Bill to ensure capital punishment for rapists: Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata, Aug 28 – Under fire after the ghastly rape and murder of a junior doctor at the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday that her government will pass a Bill in the Assembly to ensure capital punishment for convicts in rape and murder cases.

“We will move a Bill in the state Assembly within 10 days seeking capital punishment for culprits in rape and murder cases. We will send it to the Governor, and if he doesn’t pass the Bill, we will sit on indefinite protest outside the Raj Bhavan. This Bill must be passed… He cannot evade accountability this time. Why should rapists not be hanged,” Banerjee asked while addressing an even to mark the foundation day of Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP), her party’s students’ wing.

Echoing the statements of Trinamool General Secretary and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee, who spoke just before her, the Chief Minister questioned the progress made by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probing the R.G. Kar rape and murder case, 14 days after the case was handed over to the probe agency by the Calcutta High Court.

“The progress of the investigation has been ruined after the case was handed over to the CBI,” the Chief Minister claimed.

She also complemented the Kolkata Police and West Bengal Police for the manner in which they handled the ‘Nabanna Abhijan’ (March to Secretariat) on Tuesday, saying: “I salute my police. They maintained restrain even after they were attacked. They did not fall into the trap of the BJP which is doing politics over bodies.”

The Chief Minister also gave a call to the junior doctors of Bengal to resume their duties in the state-run hospitals keeping in mind the interest of the patients going there for treatment.

Describing the rape and murder incident as thoroughly unfortunate, Banerjee said now it remains to be seen that no errors are made in the follow-up action in the matter.

“That is why we wanted to complete the investigation quickly so that the trial could be conducted on a fast-track basis,” the Chief Minister said.