Number of statements from the leaders, government officials, social activists, NGOs are pouring in daily in the newspapers after the incident of heinous crime of gang rape in Delhi in which, the girl a medical student died in Singapore and six persons including one minor have been booked, demanding death sentence.

The latest one is from Union Law Minister Ashwani Kumar that there was littlce chance of J.S,Vema Committee recommending death penalty for rapists, a demand raised by protesters following the recent Delhi gang rape. The committee is, however, seeking views from the public and authorities concerned. He has further stated that a lot of experts and jurists have told him that life imprisonment is more severe than the death penalty for rapists.

Another statement from Ramesh Bais is in the news, a senior BJP MP and former Union Minister, “One can understand rape of an adjul. But rape of a minor is a heinous crime and those committing such crime ought to be hanged”. On this, the State Congress spokesman Shailesh Nitin Trivedi has said that such remarks are unacceptable as these lower the dignity of women can have demanded a public apology from the BJP MP.

While talking to an old timer, he said, taking birth is a privilege and giving death sentence on committing some crime is against the right to live and the punishment should not be the death sentence but he should be sent to jail like Kala Pani, an isolated place having detachment from the worldly affairs. A single cell of 4.5 meters x 2.7 meters with a single ventilator at three meters height, preventing any prisoner from communication with any other, would be more severe than death sentence. In fact, the Cellular Jial in Andaman, Kalapani punishment was meant to serve as a deterrent to Indian freedom fighters fighting against the British aftermath of the 1857 War of independence.

One thing is clear that minor punishment is not going to convey a message in the society to help in reducing the crime in the society as even after the incident, number of rape cases has been reported. But anyhow, the police are now on its toes with the intervening of courts for accountability on the security arrangements and lapses.

In view of the present campaign to punish the rapists, the demand of the youths is to give death sentence. But immediate consensus has to be made between death sentence and life imprisonment without any further loss of time to curb the heinous and horrified crime of rape.