Signature campaign to seek speedier trial in Vet’s murder case

IT News
Mumbai, Dec 4

Even as four accused arrested in connection with the recent rape and murder of the 26-year-old veterinarian girl in Telangana have been remanded to judicial custody for 14 days, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has began a signature campaign demanding that the trial by the Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) be finished within 10 days instead of six months.
BJP MLA Mangalprabhat Lodha from Mumbai told this correspondent that a campaign to collect one lakh signatures of citizens has been launched. The signatures will be submitted to all MPs, especially women MPs of Parliament to demand completion of trial within 10 days in the fast track courts. “We will demand that the provision to complete the trial within 6 months be amended to complete the trial within 10 days. A memorandum will also be submitted to the Union Home Minister and BJP President Amit Shah demanding that the trial be completed expeditiously. We also demand that the accused be “hanged” as early as possible.
The POCSO Act mandates that the investigation in the cases should be completed within  two months and trial should be completed in 6 months. One of its key objective is to expedite the trial and disposal of cases involving women and children by setting up Fast Track Special Courts.
NCP MP Supriya Sule said that she agreed that the trial should be expedited and at the most it should be completed within 3 months. “We should have a zero tolerance about such heinous crimes. Over and above this, a social change is the need of the hour because marriages of minor girls are still being conducted in some parts of the country, a dowry is still being demanded. As such there should be drastic change in the mind set of people”.
The 26-year-old veterinarian was brutally gangraped and killed by four lorry workers before they burned her body on Wednesday night (27 November) in Telangana’s Shamshabad. They revisited the spot to ensure that the body is totally burnt.
All the four accused were nabbed from their houses on Friday (29 November) by Cyberabad Police. The four accused- Jollu Naveen, Chintakunta Chennakeshavulu, Jollu Shiva and  Mohammad Areef—were sent to judicial custody for 14 days on Saturday (30 November)  amid high drama with a large crowd facing off against police. Three cops were suspended on Saturday (30 November) for a delay in registering an FIR in the case. Cyberabad police filed the remand report on Sunday (1 December) four days after the vet was found with her body burnt under a culvert in Chatanpally on the Hyderabad-Bengaluru national highway.
The gruesome rape and murder case, which is being perceived as another ‘Nirbhaya’, has sparked national outrage. The incidents of rape and gang rape of minor girls below the age of twelve and similar heinous crimes against women continue to raise their heads.
To prevent such crimes, stricter laws were introduced through “the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018”. It strengthened he relevant provisions of Indian Penal Code (IPC), Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.PC), Evidence Act and Protection of Children Against Sexual OffencesAct (POCSO) and provided for stringent punishment for rape of children and women. The key motive behind introducing harsh punishment was to create deterrence against such crimes. However, it is only possible if the trial in the court is completed within the time frame and justice is delivered expeditiously to the victims.
The new ‘Women Safety Division’ was set up by the Union Home Ministry on May 28, 2018 to strengthen measures for safety of women in the country and instil greater sense of security in them through speedy and effective administration of justice in a holistic manner and by providing a safer environment for women. It is responsible for policy formulation, planning, coordinating, formulating and implementing projects/schemes to assist States/Union Territories to achieve this objective, as also prison reforms, anti human trafficking and related subjects. This, inter-alia, includes increased use of IT and technology in criminal justice system and enabling a supportive eco-system for forensic sciences and crime & criminal records. However, despite a strong law and policy framework, large number of rape and POCSO Act cases are pending in various courts in the country.