juvenile rapist of nirbhaya
Today is a very important day in our social history – a day when the supreme court of india decides if a juvenile who committed a most heinous crime can be set free into our society!!
I heard Nirbhaya’s mother speak – she said – if a boy who raped his daughter is looked after in a juvenile home for three years and then given 10,000 rupees to get settled in life and move on – then it will be a good practice to follow for all other similar children i.e to rape a girl, have themselves looked after for next few years and given some bounty to boot, at the end of the term.
I am sure there will be enough human rights NGO’s willing to embrace such people and show how they were reformed. All the rapist needs to do is to just put on a facade of good behaviour and he would soon be the darling of these people!!
Without belittling the ordeal of rape – I wish to say, just raping has to be a smaller crime than raping n killing. Then, raping n killing in this grue some manner has to be in an altogether different level and may qualify to be one of a kind crime. I feel like throwing up whenever I read about it and I am sure many more would feel that way. Therefore every case of rape even within the confines of existing laws has to be treated differently with regard to the heinousness of the act.
Therefore, this juvenile justice act has to change!!! with high levels of maturity in children due to easy access to violence n porn, be it through internet ot tv, the definition of juvenile age has to be lowered. In addition rape cannot be a juvenile act. A small boy even killing someone out of rage or in a fit of anger, can still be termed to be instantaneous i.e one cut with a knife and the person may die. So there is really no time to re-think. But a rape is not like that – there is prolonged struggle by the victim and surely many cries for mercy!!! So there is enough time for the rapist to re-think his actions and let go the victim. Especially after rape, if he kills the victim, then it is a very cold and calculated decison and should not warrant any soft approach. As a corollary, we must see that juvenile laws do not cover rape by boys.
This is one time – when i would love hear a diktat or fatwa being issued by any religious head of any religion, on the juvenile!!!! but this is not utopia!!!
In case the honourable court’s hands are tied today due to the compulsions of existing law – we must do two things – one to start a movement to change this juvenile law and the next to trace out this juvenile and keep him under watch.
I am sure justice will ultimately be delivered for Nirbhaya- if not today by the honourable court, then by God himself, because when all else fails – He will deliver justice.
But for the rest, We must join the movement to get this juvenile justice law amended to exclude rape.
