Kolkata: Senior Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee on Sunday urged Parliament to introduce a new bill aimed at expediting the trial and conviction of rapists, advocating for either capital punishment or encounter killings by police for sexual offenders. His call to action followed the recent rape and murder of a doctor at a government hospital in Kolkata, which prompted Banerjee to demand that the legal process in sexual assault cases be completed within seven days.
Speaking to the media after an administrative meeting in Amtala, within his Diamond Harbour constituency in West Bengal, Banerjee criticised the BJP for staging protests over the murder of the postgraduate trainee doctor. Instead of street demonstrations, he urged the BJP to press the central government to pass a bill that ensures swift justice in such cases. Banerjee said that the Trinamool Congress would support such legislation if brought to Parliament.
‘Justice system reforms needed’
He said that setting strict timelines for trials would be cost-effective for taxpayers and emphasised that rapists, who are unfit to remain in society, should face immediate and severe consequences, either through legal execution or encounters.
He also acknowledged the shortcomings of political parties in preventing brutal crimes against women, refererring to incidents such as those in Hathras, Unnao, Manipur, the Nirbhaya case in Delhi, as well as similar events in West Bengal and called for necessary reforms in the justice system to address these failings.
Nationwide doctors’ strike
The Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) has called for a nationwide halt of elective services in hospitals on August 12, in solidarity with the RG Kar Medical College residents protesting the rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata. FORDA demands: swift action on the residents’ demands, protection from police brutality, swift justice and compensation for the deceased’s family, a mandated security protocol for healthcare workers, and an expert committee to expedite the Central Healthcare Protection Act. Elective services, including scheduled clinical anaesthesia, will be suspended to press for these demands.
