We thought that after the Centre amended the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act last year making the rape of girl children below 12 punishable with the death penalty, there would be sharp decline in such cases. But with five cases reported in the last few days, three in UP and two in MP, we can see that the situation remains as sorry as before for children (“Life term for mastermind, 2 others in Kathua rape-murder case,” June 11, Gulf Today).

With the Punjab court awarding life terms to three accused and imprisonment to three others, some semblance of justice seems to be delivered in the rape of murder of the eight-year-old Kathua case, but stricter punishment has failed to deter would be perpetrators from committing such heinous crimes.

Capital punishment can only be effective if the policing machinery is strong. The other lacuna is the long delay in disposing cases. Only when cases of such nature are fast tracked and the guilty punished will the message reach the perverted minds of the to-be rapist.

Sheetal Chaturvedi
By email