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Indian government seeks life sentences for Delhi bus rapists

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  • Indian government seeks life sentences for Delhi bus rapists



    Indian government seeks life sentences for Delhi bus rapists
    December 21, 2012 | AFP

    NEW DELHI: India’s government, facing swelling protests over the gang-rape of a female student on a bus, vowed on Friday to press for life sentences for her six attackers and promised stricter policing. Home Secretary R.K. Singh also said the government would pay the medical bills of the 23-year-old victim of the brutal Sunday night attack who is fighting for her life in hospital after suffering serious injuries to her intestines. “We will ask for the maximum punishment of life imprisonment and ask the court for the speedy trial of the accused,” Singh said as New Delhi and other cities continued to be swept by an unprecedented wave of demonstrations by women demanding better safety.
    Source: Dawn.com

    From what I understand, a 23 year old physiotherapy student and her 28 year old male companion were viciously beaten with an iron rod and the woman was gang-raped on a chartered bus. Six men, including the bus driver, have been arrested. The woman's injuries were extensive and severe. In tandem with being beaten with the metal rod, it was inserted inside her and when withdrawn part of her intestines were removed. The pair were thrown from the bus semi-naked and a passerby phoned police. The bus had passed through 3 police checkpoints during the course of this crime. Doctors in New Delhi say they have never seen anything like it. Parliament is in an uproar while the High Court has criticized police for being "evasive" during the course of the investigation. New Delhi has been characterized as the rape capital of India with almost 700 cases of rape reported this year. The protesters are demanding that the six be hanged, and more stringent laws and measures to protect women from the unbridled wave of rape and sexual assault.
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  • #2
    There has been a significant change in the attitude of common people towards the Govt and the way it functions. Nobody is ready to take it lying down. The fantastic part is that these protests are not affiliated to any other rival political party or NGO activists. Its really heartening to see that common people are ready to challenge the Govt's impotency and incompetence. Nobody has seen protests/media coverage for such issues 20 or 30 years back.

    This particular incident has re-affirmed my faith in death penalty. The girl is fighting for her life and the maximum punishment these animals can get is life imprisonment?
    Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie!'...till you can find a rock. ;)

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    • #3
      If not life then lock them up until they are too old to ever even have sex again. Chemical castration works for me too. Anyone who ever doubted that rape is about power, dominance & often violence this is a useful reminder. The call for the death penalty strikes me as running the risk of unintended consequences. If you are going to be executed for rape then there is dramatically more incentive to kill off the person best placed to testify against you.
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      Win nervously lose tragically - Reds C C

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      • #4
        We had a rape case that was pretty much the same as that one that around here a couple months ago (three guys, 16-year old girl, object insertion and massive injuries), except here they left the girl in a parking garage bleeding almost to death before she was found three hours later.

        The two main perps got 8 years, almost the maximum under youth criminal law. Both perps appealed the verdict, so the case is right now in the federal court. Although that might backfire on them, at least for the older guy the federal court might decide a retrial under adult law, where he could get up to 15 years.

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        • #5


          A tipping point has been reached in New Delhi and the protests have turned ugly. Police used water cannon, tear gas, and batons to disperse the crowds. As I look into this further, I am beginning to appreciate the deep frustrations. It seems that judges regularly take a "leave of absence" when a rape case comes to trial. As per one study, there has been only one conviction out of 635 rape cases reported in Delhi in 2012. If this is true, I am astounded.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Minskaya View Post
            As per one study, there has been only one conviction out of 635 rape cases reported in Delhi in 2012. If this is true, I am astounded.
            If you mean the statistics presented to the parliament, those said that for 635 rape cases with 754 arrests, one was convicted in court, two were discharged and 348 cases are pending. The other 404 people were challaned. A challan in this respect is a fine/sentence/conviction without hearing which can be contested in court. Not contesting it means admission of guilt.

            The number of 635 rapes should be seen in the context of Delhi's population size though. In western contexts that's incredibly low - Germany as a whole had 1011 rapes in 2011 when scaled to Delhi's population size, and that's only penetrative sexual assault on victims above age 14. The number in e.g. the UK is very similar on average. I know that reporting rates also play a lot into this, but that's the case in either country.
            Last edited by kato; 22 Dec 12,, 17:02.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by kato View Post
              If you mean the statistics presented to the parliament, those said that for 635 rape cases with 754 arrests, one was convicted in court, two were discharged and 348 cases are pending. The other 404 people were challaned. A challan in this respect is a fine/sentence/conviction without hearing which can be contested in court. Not contesting it means admission of guilt.
              Thanks. I don't pretend to understand the Indian jurisprudence system. At any rate, it is quite obvious that the people there are fed up with the status quo.
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              • #8
                I'm not really clear on the entire meaning of a challan in the Indian judicial system either, but I suspect in the end it's rather similar to the German Strafbefehl (punishment order). Except a Strafbefehl is limited to minor crimes with a maximum sentence of less than one year, and can't be used for felonies.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by kato View Post
                  The number of 635 rapes should be seen in the context of Delhi's population size though. In western contexts that's incredibly low - Germany as a whole had 1011 rapes in 2011 when scaled to Delhi's population size, and that's only penetrative sexual assault on victims above age 14. The number in e.g. the UK is very similar on average. I know that reporting rates also play a lot into this, but that's the case in either country.
                  I don't think the pent up frustrations are confined exclusively to rape. From video interviews, it also seems like a grassroots protest against a mindset that ignores public groping and simple molestation.
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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by kato View Post
                    If you mean the statistics presented to the parliament, those said that for 635 rape cases with 754 arrests, one was convicted in court, two were discharged and 348 cases are pending. The other 404 people were challaned. A challan in this respect is a fine/sentence/conviction without hearing which can be contested in court. Not contesting it means admission of guilt.

                    The number of 635 rapes should be seen in the context of Delhi's population size though. In western contexts that's incredibly low - Germany as a whole had 1011 rapes in 2011 when scaled to Delhi's population size, and that's only penetrative sexual assault on victims above age 14. The number in e.g. the UK is very similar on average. I know that reporting rates also play a lot into this, but that's the case in either country.
                    If I'm not mistaken, a "challan" only means a chargesheet. I don't think it means "punishment order" like the German term you talked about.

                    In any case, Minskaya's point about Delhi being India's rape capital is absolutely true. The city has more rapes per capita than any other Indian city. In fact,as per the numbers being quoted in the press, Delhi seems to have more rapes per year than Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata combined. And these are by no means small cities. It is an appalling situation and the general angst among the public is justified.

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                    • #11
                      I am in utterly contempt of the Indian judicial system. They are the classic example of a paper pusher and getting nothing done. They just come in and push papers around and collect their pay and go home and engage in a mental masturbation in how they think they are doing good things for Indian society. They are not. They are engaged in corruption, sloth, ineptitude, incompetence, and unwillingness to get anything done. The same thing goes for lawyers, justices, peace officers, etc. They all want their perks and benefits but don't want to do the hard time or work.

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                      • #12
                        That can't be correct, Hitesh. I don't doubt your observation that there are sloths in the system but India is not an anarchy country. You're doing business with the outside world and they have to have faith in your laws to work there

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Officer of Engineers View Post
                          That can't be correct, Hitesh. I don't doubt your observation that there are sloths in the system but India is not an anarchy country. You're doing business with the outside world and they have to have faith in your laws to work there
                          Only those with money can get anything done. If you don't have money, you are shit out of luck.

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                          • #14
                            off with their heads
                            "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!" B. Franklin

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Minskaya View Post



                              Source: Dawn.com

                              From what I understand, a 23 year old physiotherapy student and her 28 year old male companion were viciously beaten with an iron rod and the woman was gang-raped on a chartered bus. Six men, including the bus driver, have been arrested. The woman's injuries were extensive and severe. In tandem with being beaten with the metal rod, it was inserted inside her and when withdrawn part of her intestines were removed. The pair were thrown from the bus semi-naked and a passerby phoned police. The bus had passed through 3 police checkpoints during the course of this crime. Doctors in New Delhi say they have never seen anything like it. Parliament is in an uproar while the High Court has criticized police for being "evasive" during the course of the investigation. New Delhi has been characterized as the rape capital of India with almost 700 cases of rape reported this year. The protesters are demanding that the six be hanged, and more stringent laws and measures to protect women from the unbridled wave of rape and sexual assault.
                              Hanging is too good - slit open their bellies and throw them in a deep pit, add barrels of brine, fish hooks, live hornets nests ..

                              they each need a meathook - attached to frayed steel cable - in their pelvis, so they can be bought up for more serious punishment after their initial seasoning in the pit.
                              Last edited by USSWisconsin; 23 Dec 12,, 01:17.
                              sigpic"If your plan is for one year, plant rice. If your plan is for ten years, plant trees.
                              If your plan is for one hundred years, educate children."

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