Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot landed in a fresh trouble on Sunday for his remark, that murder cases after rape have increased after the law providing death sentences for rape convicts came into force. While the remark triggered criticism with several politicians condemning the statement, the chief minister later clarified that the Nirbhaya case verdict was in “good taste”.
Addressing a press conference in Delhi on Friday, chief minister Gehlot referred to the December 16, 2012 Delhi gangrape case, which was later called as the ‘Nirbhaya’ incident. The four men convicted of the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old physiotherapy intern on December 16, 2012 were hanged in Tihar jail on March 20, 2020.
“Ever since the death penalty (for rape convicts) is brought after Nirbhaya incident, the murders after rape have increased. The rapist sees that the girl will become a witness tomorrow, so he not only rapes but also kills her. This is happening across the country. This is a very dangerous trend,” Gehlot had said.
Delhi Commission for Women’s chief, Swati Maliwal condemned the remark by sharing a video of the chief minister’s statement on Twitter and said such statements of politicians break the morale of all victims. “Today barbaric rapes are taking place in the country. The law was made after great difficulty. Such statements of politicians break the morale of every victim. The job of leaders is to give women safety and not to make unnecessary statements,” she said in a tweet in Hindi.
Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said the chief minister’s statement was “unfortunate”. “In the last three years, Rajasthan has become the centre for atrocities against young innocent girls. Nothing can be more unfortunate that the issue is being twisted by making controversial statements to hide their failures,” said Shekhawat.
With inputs from News18