Do not make an issue out of one or two rapes in a country as big as India: Santosh Gangwar
Santosh Gangwar
The government on Saturday approved the promulgation of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018, which allowed courts to award death penalty to those convicted of raping children below 12 years of age.
Union Minister Santosh Gangwar on Saturday said that rampant incidents of rape in the country are unfortunate, but sometimes they cannot be prevented.
The statement came in response to the intense outrage across the country over the gangrape and murder of a minor girl in Kathua and the rape of a 17-year-old girl in Unnao allegedly by a BJP MLA.
"Such incidents (rape cases) are unfortunate, but sometimes cannot be prevented," Gangwar told media.
Asserting that Central Government is actively taking action against such incidents, he said that hue and cry should not be created if one or two such incidents rake up in a big country like India.
The minister's statement comes amid an outrage over Kathua and Unnao rape cases that have taken the country by a storm.
In the wake of these incidents, the Union Cabinet on Saturday approved the amendment in the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act putting a stamp on the death penalty for the rapists of children below 12 years of age.
(With inputs from ANI)