DCW chief sits on indefinite hunger strike against rape cases

New Delhi, December 3

Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal sat on an indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar on Tuesday against the recent incidents of rape.

Earlier, she had alleged that police had not given her permission to hold the protest.

Maliwal also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding that rapists be hanged within six months of their conviction and cited the recent incidents of the gangrape and murder of a Hyderabad veterinarian and the brutal rape of a six-year-old girl in Rajasthan.

“My demand to the PM is that we want capital punishment for the rapists of minor and major victims. The accused in the Hyderabad case must be hanged. Last year, I sat on protest and within 10 days, the government made a law that the rapists of minors would get capital punishment within six months, but this did not happen.

“Now, I want the PM to implement the law. I demand strict and swift punishment. We need to enhance the infrastructure for a better implementation of the law. In Delhi, there is a shortage of 66,000 police officers and 45 fast-track courts,” Maliwal said at Jantar Mantar.

Responding to her allegations, Delhi Police said they had not rejected the demand of holding the protest.

Seeking to clarify the matter, the police said a letter was sent to the DCW for obtaining details of the protest, mode of transport, microphone arrangements and the number of protesters who were supposed to take part, with a copy of an undertaking to be filled according to the Supreme Court guidelines.

The details were awaited, they said. PTI