Indian State Passes Bill Seeking Death Penalty For Rapists After The Rape And Murder Of Doctor

Junior doctors carry India's national flag and hold placards during a protest to demand the resignation of a city police commissioner and condemn the rape and murder of a medic, in Kolkata on September 2, 2024. The discovery of the 31-year-old doctor's bloodied body at a state-run hospital in Kolkata on August 9 stoked nationwide anger at the chronic issue of violence against women, that sparked strikes by medics and rallies backed by thousands of ordinary citizens across India. (Photo by Dibyangshu SARKAR / AFP) (Photo by DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP via Getty Images) — Junior doctors carry India’s national flag and hold placards during a protest to demand the resignation of a city police commissioner and condemn the rape and murder of a medic, in Kolkata on September 2, 2024. The discovery of the 31-year-old doctor’s bloodied body at a state-run hospital in Kolkata on August 9 stoked nationwide anger at the chronic issue of violence against women, that sparked strikes by medics and rallies backed by thousands of ordinary citizens across India. (Photo by Dibyangshu SARKAR / AFP) (Photo by DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN Staff Abril Elfi
3:13 PM – Tuesday, September 2, 2024

A state in India has passed a law that could allow for the execution of rapists, following the rape and murder of a beloved 31-year-old female doctor, whose body was discovered on August 9^th.

The law was passed on Tuesday following weeks of protests in West Bengal.

Demonstrators are calling for an end to violence against women in India. The doctor, Moumita Debnath, was brutally raped and killed at a state-run hospital in the local capital of Kolkata. She had gone to rest in a lecture hall during a night shift when multiple men attacked her.

The 31-year-old doctor’s body was discovered on August 9^th with multiple injuries in a lecture hall at the city’s R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital.

Up until her death, she suffered multiple injuries and her body showed signs of sexual assault, which was confirmed by an autopsy. It was also implied by examiners that she could have been tortured prior to her death, and that she had resisted or fought back.

The next day, after the case prompted a national uproar. Citizens protested demanding safety for women while doctors across the nation called for safer workplaces.

According to the latest data from the National Crime Records Bureau, India reported an average of nearly 90 rapes per day in 2022. However, experts believe the real number could be much higher, as many rapes go unreported due to prevailing stigmas around sexual violence and a lack of faith in police investigations. The conviction rate is still quite low.

The new West Bengal law, which was passed by the state assembly on Tuesday, but has not yet been signed by the president, condemns the ongoing issue of violence against women.

However, if presidential approval is given, it could become state law. The law increases the penalty for rape from the current minimum 10-year sentence to life in prison or even death.

Executions in India have typically been carried out by hanging.

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