BJP seeks capital punishment for Sakinaka rape case accused; targets MVA govt

The BJP in Maharashtra on Saturday sought capital punishment for the accused involved in Mumbais Sakinaka rape and assault case and also hit out at the Shiv Senaled Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA government over the issue of womens safetyA 34yearold woman was allegedly raped inside a stationary tempo parked by the roadside in Sakinaka early on Friday The accused a 45yearold man who has been arrested had also assaulted the victim in her private parts with an iron rod The woman died at the civicrun Rajawadi Hospital here in the early hours of Saturday police saidLeader of Opposition in the state Legislative Assembly Devendra Fadnavis said The Sakinaka woman rape case should be tried in a fasttrack court so that the accused gets punishment at the earliest Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray should meet the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court and request him to hold the trial in the case in a fasttrack courtI know that awarding a sentence is in the hands of the judiciary But I feel the culprit in the Sakinaka rape should be hanged to death he saidThe Sakinaka incident was an unfortunate reminder of the Delhi rape case he said adding that attacks on women was a matter of concernFadnavis was referring to the 2012 case in which a young woman later referred to as Nirbhaya was brutally gangraped and assaulted inside a moving bus in DelhiAsked about the proposed Shakti Act he said Existing laws are sufficient to take tough actions against the culprits It is the will power of the state to take tough decisions and follow it up till the logical endTalking to reporters Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Council Pravin Darekar blamed the state government for the incidentThe onus of this incident is entirely on the state government because there is no respect left for the law for criminals It is horrible to know the kind of pain that she had to go through I am deeply anguished by her deathI can not describe my feelings in words It is not only shameful but it has made me angry The state needs to take some action he saidIf BJP says anything on this then it might be alleged that we are politicising the issue of crimes against women but the number of such incidents are selfexplanatory Several such incidents have occurred in different parts of Maharashtra wherein women were assaulted In a couple of incidents minor girls were raped but the state government does not seem to be serious about it he saidDarekar said When I reached Rajawadi Hospital where the Sakinaka rape victim was admitted to see the situation I spotted Congress leader Naseem Khan there with his party workers I was shocked to see Congress workers raising slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the premises of the hospitalThe BJP is being accused of politicising the incident but it is the Congress indulging in such practice he allegedState BJP vicepresident Chitra Wagh called for formulation of a new act on the lines of SCST Atrocities Act so that the culprits involved in atrocities against women do not get bail easilyAlso read Mumbai 30yearold Sakinaka rape victim dies undergoing treatmentThere are experts lawyers and state judiciary department who need to come up with better measures that would work as deterrents she saidShe also asked Maharashtra Women and Child Development Minister Yashomati Thakur why she has not appointed anyone on the post of the chairperson of the state womens commission for over a yearI am told that the file to appoint chairperson on State Womens commission has been sent back eight times by chief minister and deputy chief minister How is this government going to defend it she askedWagh said Thakur was now pointing fingers at similar assaults on women that had occurred in the pastBut Thakur should not forget that she is a cabinet minister She cannot escape from our questions on womens safety She should tell us the reasons behind not appointing a chairman on the state womens commission Why so much delay when the commissions primary duty is to address womens issues she saidIt appears that the Sakinata rape case is just a number for the MVA government Wagh allegedMeanwhile talking to reporters Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar a Shiv Sena leader said I cannot imagine why some men act so cruelly I have been told that the police are gathering all the details of the incident and collecting evidence It will take some time but the truth will come outThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever