BD introduces death penalty for rape; ordinance promulgated

Live Correspondent: Bangladesh has introduced the death penalty for rape amid growing demand for highest punishment to the rapists following high level of sexual violence against women.

President Abdul Hamid promulgated the Children Repression Prevention (Amendment) Ordinance on Tuesday directly making it into law.

From now on, the highest punishment for rape will be death penalty under the new law which came into effect from today.

Earlier on Monday, the Cabinet approved the draft of the Women and Children Repression Prevention (Amendment) Bill 2020 incorporating a provision of death penalty as the highest punishment for rape.

Later, Law Minister Aniul Huq said the President would promulgate an ordinance in this regard on Tuesday as parliament is not currently in session and the law would come into force from Tuesday.

The move to amend the law came amid the growing demand for capital punishment for rapists from different quarters following some horrific incidents.

The gang-rape of a young woman after confining her husband to an MC College dormitory in Sylhet and the brutal gang assault on a woman after being stripped in Noakhali triggered angry protests across the country.

Protesters galvanised by the two incidents demanded that the highest punishment for rape be death sentence.

A woman was tortured inhumanly after being stripped in Begumganj upazila of Noakhali last month.

A video clip of the woman being tortured after being stripped by a group of men went viral on social media which triggered outcry.

In the video, the group was seen slapping, kicking and punching the woman. Relatives alleged that the woman has been residing in her father’s house after her separation with her husband.

Rahim, Badal, Kalam and their associates had been harassing her since then. On September 2 last, her former husband came to meet her.

At that time, they tied him up after lebelling him stranger and tortured the woman after stripping off her clothes. However, no one dared to speak about the incident as the torturers were influential. Meanwhile, the video clip went viral on the social networking site.

Later, two cases -– one under the Pornography Control Act and the other under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act -- were filed against nine people.

Eight people, including six FIR-named accused, have so far been arrested over the incident.

Besides, the victim filed a rape case against Delwar Hossain, the kingpin of Delwar Bahini and prime accused in two cases filed over the incident, and his associate Abul Kalam.

The victim mentioned in the case statement that Delwar raped her twice before she was molested on September 2.

She was first raped by him one year ago and then before Ramadan last. Kalam also tried to violate her during the second incident.

A group of leaders and activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League reportedly gang-raped a young woman after confining her husband to a room of MC College hostel in Sylhet on September 25.

Sources said the young couple went to visit the MC College campus in the evening when a group of BCL men picked them up and took them to the hostel.

They confined the victim’s husband to a room and raped her in turns. On information, police rescued the couple around 11pm.

Dhaka,13 October (campuslive24.com)//ait