West Bengal Assembly on Wednesday passed a law allowing for life imprisonment or the death penalty for those convicted of sexual assault.
According to the Indian media, the new law increases the penalty for sexual assault from 10 years to either life imprisonment or death. This decision comes amid ongoing protests in Kolkata over the sexual assault and murder of a female doctor.
The police detained Sanjay Roy, the accused, who was employed as a volunteer with the police for security.
A female doctor, who was on the night shift at a hospital in Kolkata, went to sleep in the lecturer’s hall for a short rest. At around 4am, the accused sexually assaulted and brutally murdered her, which led to a doctors’ strike and nationwide protests.
The West Bengal Assembly introduced this law in response to protesters’ demands for the death penalty for the accused, though it still requires the President’s approval.
However, if the President does not approve, the state could still enact the law.
Currently, this new law in West Bengal is largely symbolic, as India’s criminal code is uniformly applied across the country.
The India’s National Crime Records Bureau said that average 90 cases of sexual assault are reported daily in the country, though the actual number might be significantly higher.
