The Delhi Assembly passed a resolution on Tuesday seeking amendments to existing laws to make stalking a non-bailable offence, and to award death penalty to those convicted of raping minors.
The resolution, moved by AAP MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj, demanded that the Delhi government present a bill asking the Centre to amend the law. Aam Aadmi Party MLA Alka Lamba had demanded that the government make stalking a non-bailable offence in an anti-stalking bill.
Delhi Home Minister Satyendar Jain told the House that the government would present the bill seeking amendments. "The government will table the bill. It will be sent to the Centre once it is passed by the Delhi Assembly," Jain said. The minister added that he hoped the Centre would not object to it.
"The law should be amended to make stalking a non-bailable offence. The law should also be amended to make juvenile rape punishable with death penalty," the resolution stated.
Last week, a 17-year-old girl hanged herself from a ceiling fan at her outer Delhi residence. She left a note citing stalking and sexual harassment as the reasons behind the step after which safety of women in the Capital has once again surfaced as a matter of concern.
Talking to DNA, a senior Delhi Police officer said that the biggest problem in handling cases of stalking is that the victims turn hostile.
"Reason is not just one, but from social pressure to the pressure from family members, and hesitation of stepping out and registering a case against the accused. In many cases, husbands of women who are being bothered, stalked or harassed, force their wives to not take legal action and keep away from the legal hassles. This keeps the police away from taking stern action," the officer said.
