SRINAGAR: Following the massive outrage over the gangrape of a girl in a moving bus in New delhi, Jammu and Kashmir is planning to review its laws related to sexual violence.
“Very effective and stringent provisions are needed to be incorporated in the law relating to sexual offences to make it deterrent and in tune with public sentiments,” an official spokesperson said after a meeting chaired by Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Ali Mohammad Sagar on Monday.
The Delhi girl died on Saturday at a Singapore hospital, where she had been taken for treatment of her multiple injuries.
The weeks before that saw massive outrage across the country with protesters, mostly young women and men, demanding stringent laws dealing with rape and a change in how the country treated its women.
Some demanded death penalty for rapists.
Kashmir has its own constitution. The official spokesperson said the modifications in laws for sexual violence will deal with various stages including investigation, prosecution and trial of such cases.
But our correspondent, Rakib Altaf says the changes are unlikely to assuage the feelings of those Kashmiris who feel that members of the security forces allegedly involved in sexual offences have never been brought to justice.
Security forces in the state have immunity under AFSPA which makes prior sanction of the federal or the central government necessary for bringing prosecution against them.
But he says the changed law may still help in reducing the incidents of violence against women at the hands of civilians, which have increased over the recent years.
In the last ten days, there have been two cases of rapes by civilians, one that of a 35-year-old widow.
The official spokesperson added that the state’s law department will also consult some experts on the subject to make the law dealing with such crimes comprehensive and effective.
A final draft of the Bill shall be prepared shortly for being placed before the Cabinet, he said.
