New Delhi: A day after President Ram Nath Kovind gave his nod to an ordinance confirming death penalty for those convicted for raping minors, a citizen survey has now shown that nearly 76 percent of the people agree with it.
In the survey, which was conducted by NGO LocalCircles, at least 18 percent of the respondents voted in favour of life imprisonment without parole for convicted rapists while three percent said that they (child rape convicts) should be given a seven-year jail term (which is the current law).
To catch the citizens’ pulse on the Union Cabinet’s move to allow an ordinance to amend the existing Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in view of a national outrage over the Kathua rape-and-murder case and similar incidents from across the country, LocalCircles had conducted six nation-wide polls on the issue.
The survey received more than 40,000 votes.
In the second poll, nearly 89 percent respondents agreed that they want their respective states to pass a law that awards death penalty to child rapists within six months.
The state governments in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh have recently passed a law that awards death penalty for child rape.
In another poll, which was about engaging more women officers to register cases of sexual assault, it was found that 78 percent citizens were in support of every district level police station to have at least one woman officer.
For the fourth poll, on the maximum time taken by the police to file a chargesheet in cases of child rape, only 28 percent said it should be done within 30 days, while 25 percent said 45 days.
The results of the fifth poll found that 65 percent people want POCSO judges to only handle cases which are related to child sexual abuse.
The final poll on the maximum time taken for justice in cases of child rape under POCSO act, 85 percent citizens said it should be within six months.
(With IANS inputs)
Source: Zee News