"Will not matter to us whether bill is passed or not": RG Kar rape case victim's father on Aparajita Bill

North 24 Parganas (West Bengal) [India], July 26 (ANI): The father of the RG Kar rape and murder victim accused Kolkata Police of tampering with evidence and failing to act in his daughter's case, while reacting to the Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill.
Speaking to ANI, he said, "... Kolkata Police did nothing in my daughter's case except for evidence tampering... There was no provision for evidence tampering in this bill. It will not matter to us whether the bill is passed or not..."
He also criticised Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, alleging that the bill was introduced in the Assembly to "deceive the people" of the state.
"...The Chief Minister introduced this bill in the Assembly to deceive the people of West Bengal. She also sent it to the Governor and the President. But they rejected the bill, which is a good thing," he said.
On Thursday, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose sent back the Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024, to the state government.
The bill proposes the death penalty or life imprisonment for those convicted of rape and seeks to amend sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the new criminal code.
The West Bengal Legislative Assembly had unanimously passed the Aparajita Bill on September 3, 2024. The Bill was sent to President Droupadi Murmu by the Governor on September 6, 2024.
The legislation was passed following the rape and murder of a doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, which provides for the death penalty in five categories of offences -- rape, rape by a police officer or public servant, rape causing death or resulting in a persistent vegetative state, gang rape, and repeat offenders.
According to Raj Bhawan officials, the bill proposes making the death penalty mandatory in cases where the victim dies or is left in a vegetative state under Section 66 of the BNS.
The Bill also proposes to delete Section 65 of the BNS, 2023, thereby eliminating the distinction in punishment for the rape of women under 16 and under 12 years of age, according to Raj Bhawan.
The development comes amid repeated appeals by the Trinamool Congress government urging the Union government to grant assent to the Bill. A delegation of Trinamool Congress MPs met President Droupadi Murmu on February 13 to press for early approval of the legislation.
Certain legal experts had described the Aparajita Bill as a knee-jerk response by the West Bengal government.
Earlier, the father of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape and murder victim spoke out against the alleged gangrape case in Kolkata's law college, expressing his frustration and disappointment with the recurring incidents of violence.
He accused the government of having a significant role to play in preventing such incidents and that the accused should be severely punished.
He said, "Such incidents are happening again and again. After what happened with my daughter, many people came out on the streets in protest. Even after that, such incidents continue to occur. People inside the college are committing such incidents. The government has a significant role in this, which is why all these incidents are happening. All three people arrested are from the TMC, so this political party should ensure that such incidents do not happen again. The accused should be severely punished." (ANI)