Nagaland Governor P B Acharya has forwarded to the State Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) a petition seeking amendment of law in Nagaland to award death penalty as punishment for rape of minors.
According to Raj Bhawan sources, the Governor extended support to the petition and forwarded the same for necessary legislation on the matter.
The petition, received from chairperson of Confederation of Women Entrepreneurs of India (COWEI), Uma Ghurka, stated that ‘we need to play our role in the protection of the girl child’.
COWEI has initiated a petition asking for awarding death penalty or life imprisonment as punishment for child rape and speedy trial in case of child rape to get justice within six months.
The letter addressed to the Governor stated that the petition has received wide support from all sections of the society and over 15,000 people have signed in within a months’ time and thousands of people continue to sign and propagate it every week.
Also over 15 women organizations have extended their support to it, the letter stated.
Acharya, who met with Uma Ghurka in Mumbai, had talks with her regarding the matter and asked her to send a letter to his office.
Notably states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh have already passed a bill awarding death penalty for rape of minor child below the age of 12 years.