A state in India, rattled by prolonged demonstrations calling for justice following the brutal rape and murder of a physician, enacted legislation on Tuesday that could result in the death penalty for rapists. Demonstrations flared in West Bengal upon the grisly finding of a 31-year-old doctor's corpse at a government-run hospital in Kolkata, the state capital, on August 9.
The legislation, approved by the state assembly but awaiting presidential assent, reflects deep indignation over the persistent issue of violence towards women. Although the new West Bengal statute is largely emblematic since India's penal code is uniformly enforced nationwide, presidential approval might allow it to stand as state law. The law escalates the penalty for rape, extending the minimum sentence from 10 years to either life imprisonment or execution.
The physician's murder ignited strikes among medical professionals and mass demonstrations supported by thousands across India, though many doctors have resumed their duties. The protests in West Bengal have evolved into confrontations between supporters of opposing political parties, including the ruling All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is in power at the national level but in opposition in West Bengal. Both parties endorsed the new state law.
The heinous nature of the crime has drawn parallels to the infamous 2012 gang rape and murder of a young woman on a bus in Delhi, the national capital.
