Goa MP advocates death for those who rape minors

PANAJI - Those who rape minors should be sent to the gallows, Congress MP Shantaram Naik said Wednesday following the alleged rape of a nine-year-old Russian girl at a Goa beach.

The controversial Rajya Sabha MP from Goa, who had created an uproar in December with his comments in the upper house that some rape victims invite trouble by “socialising” with strangers, said the Indian Penal Code (IPC) should be amended to include a provision of a death sentence for those convicted of raping minors.

“I will be taking up this issue during the next parliamentary session,” Naik told IANS after a Russian mother complained to the police Tuesday night that her nine-year-old daughter had been raped by a tourist at Arambol beach in north Goa.

He also recommended fast track courts to handle such crimes.

The former Goa Congress president’s Dec 15 remark in the Rajya Sabha that a rape case should be treated differently if the victim was known to be moving with strangers beyond midnight had invited sharp criticism from across political spectrum and women’s groups.

The Delhi-based Russian Embassy asked the state government to issue an advisory if it did not want Russian tourists travelling late in Goa.

His comment came after a 25-year-old Russian woman was allegedly raped by a well connected Goan politician John Fernandes, backed by some state level Congress ministers.