Raj Thackeray favours 'Sharia-type' law to tackle rape

Ahmednagar (Maharashtra):  Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray on Monday advocated a stringent Sharia-type law to tackle heinous crimes like rape against women and minors. "Those who rape and kill minors, their hands and legs should be chopped off," an emotionally-charged MNS leader said after meeting the relatives of a minor rape victim here. Thackeray said those indulging in heinous crimes against women or minors be dealt with mercilessly. "There is a need for a Sharia-type law, prevalent in some Islamic countries, to deal with such crimes," he said.

He also urged the government to amend the relevant laws since the perpetrators of rape could misuse existing provisions to their advantage. The 14-year old schoolgirl was kidnapped, gang-raped and her body badly mutilated in Kopardi village in Ahmednagar district. Her body was found on July 13. Thackeray said the crime at Kopardi occurred because law and order in Maharashtra had collapsed and the present Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena government is "proving worse than the earlier Congress-Nationalist Congress Party rule". Referring to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' announcement to provide arms licences to rape survivors or their families, Thackeray said such measures will not suffice. When told that the arrested accused had said they were inebriated when they allegedly committed the crime, the MNS leader countered: "Even after drinking, don't you recognise your mother or sister? You don't do such things with them, then why with others?" The MNS chief was interacting with the media after meeting and consoling the girl's family. Fadnavis, who visited the distraught family on Sunday, assured arms licences to the families or survivors of rape to enable them protect themselves. He also reiterated that the case would be fast-tracked and handled by Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam.